Kiss the Girl
by snapple79
Summary: What if Sam kissed Andy after she was shot? How would she react? What would it mean for the two of them?
1. Chapter 1

What if Sam kissed Andy after she was shot? How would she react? What would it mean for the two of them?

This story starts at the beginning of season 2, so she and Luke are together…for now. And it will follow the season and how things would have changed if Sam had kissed Andy after she was shot. You'll probably recognize a line or two of dialogue here and there that I've borrowed from the show.

Reviews are wonderful, so please let me know what you think! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Andy woke up feeling it was going to be a great day and when Frank told her she was in charge at the Supernova concert, it seemed to confirm that feeling. But then she got shot. She was in charge and she got shot, along with another innocent girl.

It felt like someone pushed the fast forward button. She heard the first shot and felt the blood splatter on her face all at the same time. She didn't even have time to survey the situation before she was knocked to the ground feeling this horrible pain in her abdomen. It was hard to breathe and all she could think about was the girl lying next to her. When she saw Sam run over she was relieved. She grabbed his hand, not wanting to let him go, but he said something about needing to be the boss now. Right, she had been in charge and got shot. _She_ had been in charge.

The rest of the morning moved in slow motion. She was forced to do a lot of waiting, something she hated. Waiting and not doing anything. She kept telling everyone she was fine, repeating it over and over until she even started to believe it. Then she had to tell this new blond detective what she had just gone through. The woman seemed nice enough, but she didn't know this Jo Rosati. Why couldn't it be someone she knew from 15 Division? She recounted the events of the morning and thought she was going to throw up when she saw the girl get shot again in her mind. Somehow it was worse in her mind than it was in person.

And then it was over. She insisted she didn't need to go to the hospital. She was fine. Jo told her she should take the rest of the day off. How was she just supposed to go home? When she walked back out into the sunny day, she saw Sam there waiting for her. He hadn't left her. He had to go and be the boss, but he had come back for her. She wasn't sure if it was because of the pain screaming across her stomach and chest or seeing Sam waiting there for her, but her eyes filled with tears. She quickly blinked them away so he wouldn't see them.

Sam turned around when he heard the trailer door open and was happy to see Andy walking down the stairs.

"How do you feel?" he said, grabbing her arm gently and pulling her behind the trailer.

"Fine. Sam, that was really scary. That hurt so bad," she replied, not realizing he was the first person she was honest with about how she felt. Sam gently pushed her up against the trailer and was staring at her with a worried look on his face. "I'm alright, I'm alright. It's just that I've already got this bruise that's forming," she said. She lifted her shirt to show him the bruise, but quickly noticed Sam was still staring at her face and looked up at him. "What?"

He looked intensely into Andy's eyes, while his hands roamed the sides of her face, like he was trying to convince himself that she was okay. He knew the dried blood on her face wasn't hers, but that knowledge hadn't made its way to his heart yet and it was still breaking from the possibility she could have died. The fact she was hurt, could've died, was all that kept running through his head.

"Sam," she sighed.

"When I saw the blood, and you go down…I thought I lost you, Andy." His eyes still glued to hers, he inched closer to her and lowered his lips to hers. The moment they touched, a feeling of warmth traveled through Andy's body. Suddenly, she no longer felt the pain from the gunshot, no longer saw the images in her head of the girl bleeding out. She brought her hands to Sam's waist as the passion of the kiss heated up, but then Sam suddenly pulled away.

He hadn't planned that. He really just wanted to make sure she was okay, to reassure himself the blood on her was from the other girl, to feel her in his hands. She was with Luke and he had no right to kiss her. He rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm sorry," he said, backing up.

Andy grabbed his arm to keep him from bolting. "Don't do that, Sam," she whispered, unsure if she meant the kiss or the apology. She licked her bottom lip and could still taste him there.

"You're with – Look, I shouldn't have done that," he said, shaking his head.

"I'm with Luke, I know," she frowned and took a deep breath. "But if you felt what I did with that kiss, you can't pass it off as 'it was what it was' again."

The five worst words he had ever uttered in his life.

"Someone find Swarek, we need him over here now!" Sam heard Frank yell. _Crap, not now_, he thought before hearing his name again.

Sam and Andy stared into each other's eyes, neither saying anything for a moment.

He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before speaking. "We're not done here," he said to Andy.

"Later?" she asked.

"Later."

Andy sighed as Sam walked away. _What just happened_? she wondered.

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><p>Hours later, after the shooter had been caught, Andy stood in the locker room. She grimaced from the pain as she slowly removed her vest and uniform. She looked at the bruise on her abdomen for the hundredth time since she had gotten shot. It was a monster of a bruise, already turning various shades of purple, reaching from just under her chest to halfway down her stomach.<p>

Once she finished changing, she sat down on the bench to think. The locker room was dark and quiet, no one trying to reassure her – again and again – that she would be okay and that it wasn't her fault. She knew tomorrow or a week from now she'd realize they were right, but at that moment she couldn't get past the fact she was in charge and a girl standing next to her was shot dead.

And then there was the kiss, the electrifying kiss. She and Sam still hadn't talked. Well, they had talked about the case and he seemed to be the only one to understand why she needed to stay at work and figure out why it all happened. Luke hadn't. In fact, he seemed preoccupied by Jo. They _were_ working the case together, but there was something about the looks they gave each other that bothered Andy. She could figure that out later. Right now, Andy was left feeling confused about Sam and the kiss and what it all meant.

Her shift was over long ago, but she didn't want to go home, to the home she shared with Luke. But she had nowhere else to go, so she kept sitting and staring at her locker.

"I thought you would have left by now." Andy jumped when she heard Sam's voice. When she didn't immediately respond, he sat down next to her, their arms and legs brushing against each other.

"I didn't know where to go," she whispered. Sam raised his eyebrows in question when she looked over at him.

She quickly glanced away, not wanting to look at him with all the thoughts running through her head. She wanted to tell him she didn't want to be with Luke, and not just for that night. But she didn't know how Sam felt. What if he didn't share her feelings? _He kissed me, but what if it was in the heat of the moment, like the way I threw myself at him the night of the blackout,_ she wondered.

"Wanna get out of here?" Sam asked. Andy nodded in response. "I can take you to the Penny, I think Nash and them are already there," he said, standing up and reaching his hand out.

"No." She didn't know where she wanted to go, but nowhere she could possibly run into Luke. "Can you and I go somewhere?"

"Sure, you hungry?"

Andy shook her head no as she placed her hand in Sam's and stood up. She let him lead her out of the station and to his truck with a hand placed at the small of her back. She sat in silence, staring out the window as Sam drove. Suddenly, her phone rang and she saw Luke's name on the caller ID.

"Hi."

"Hey Andy, did you head to the Penny with Nash? When I wrapped up with Jo I couldn't find you," Luke said, sounding concerned.

"Uh, ya, just wanted to hang out with friends tonight. I'll catch a ride home with someone," she lied, trying to be vague.

"Want me to come pick you up?" he said.

"No! Uh, no, I'll just meet you at home," she replied. "Bye Luke."

She put her phone back in her pocket and saw Sam smirking. "Shut up."

"I didn't say a word," he said smiling. If he was honest with himself, Sam was happy she was blowing Luke off so she could be with him. Maybe it would give him the time he needed to work up the courage to say what he wanted to say.

"I just, uh, I can't deal with him right now. He couldn't understand why I needed to stay at work today, to see the case through," she said, feeling like she needed to explain herself, even though that wasn't completely the reason she didn't want to see her boyfriend.

They rode in silence for a few minutes before Andy couldn't take the quiet anymore. She started rambling on about handcuffing the shooter on the roof and how she couldn't believe Frank wasn't pissed at her. She asked Sam if he thought she'd get in trouble for that, but didn't wait for an answer before going on that Frank must understand. The guy shot her, so yeah, Frank had to understand.

Sam sat in silence, glancing over at Andy occasionally. He knew she was rambling because she hated the silence, especially when she was nervous. He pulled over to the curb to park his truck and Andy saw a familiar front door staring in front of her.

"I didn't know where else to take you," Sam said when they pulled up at his apartment. "But I can take you wherever you want to go later…home, the Penny, wherever."

"Thanks," Andy said quietly, and got out of the truck. She followed him up the stairs and waited while he unlocked the door. Sam ushered her in, turning on the lights and taking her coat before he motioned for her to sit on the couch.

"Want anything, coffee, water, beer?" he asked.

Andy shook her head and he took a seat next to her. He didn't know how to start this conversation and the silence was killing Andy. "I, uh, I like your place. Didn't see much of it last time," she said, letting the last words fall to a whisper as she realized what she was saying. Did she have to stick her foot in her mouth and remind them both of the night she ran out on him?

Sam smiled, thinking how cute she was when she was uncomfortable. Hell, she was always adorable.

"I meant what I said earlier about not going to Guns and Gangs. I enjoy working with you McNally. We make a good team," he said. But truthfully that wasn't the whole reason. He started this whole thing earlier, he might as well finish it now. "I care about you Andy."

The way he said her first name made her turn to look at him. "What do you want Sam?" she asked.

"I want to go back, to forget that I said 'it was what it was,' to tell you what that night meant to me. To tell you I don't just want to be friends," he said, grabbing her hand in his and drawing small circles on it.

"There's no going back," she said softly, looking down at their joined hands.

Sam let out a deep breath, thinking he was too late. She was with Luke. She was happy. He lost his chance. It was a mistake to kiss her today. He started to pull his hand away, but she kept it firmly in hers.

"But there is moving forward," she said, her lips curving into a smile. "You know, I never _choose_ Luke. You made that choice for me when you refused to even talk to me after, you know, that night. And I stayed because I thought I couldn't have what, or who, I wanted."

Andy scooted closer to Sam and put a hand on his chest. "So, are _we_ moving forward?" she asked.

Sam was shocked. Was this really happening? She wanted him as much as he wanted her. This had to be a dream. This was everything he ever wanted. "Absolutely," he answered, smiling.

Sam leaned in to place his lips on hers for a passionate kiss. It sent tingles down her spine that made her shiver. She had never felt this from a simple kiss before. It overtook all her senses and she never wanted to stop. Sam's hands found their way up to her face, framing it as the kiss deepened. He couldn't get enough of Andy. The kiss was electrifying. He hated clichés, but he swore he saw fireworks when their lips met. All he wanted to do was take Andy to his bed. When the need for air became too much, their lips parted and Sam moved his head so his mouth could graze Andy's jaw and neck, but she pulled away. Sam's eyes shot open and Andy could see confusion written all over his face. Pulling away from the comfort of Sam's touch was the last thing she wanted to do, but Andy knew she couldn't start anything with Sam until she closed another chapter of her life first. And if she let Sam keep kissing her that way, she was never going to make it out of his apartment.

"I need – I won't be _that_ person. I need to do something first, before we take this any further," she explained, and Sam understood what she meant.

"Let's go, I'll drive you there," he said, knowing she needed to go home.

When they arrived at the house Luke and Andy shared, she turned to Sam. "Will you wait here? It's probably not a good idea for you to come in."

"Sure, I'll be here for you," Sam replied, and Andy saw in his eyes that he meant more than just tonight.

Andy walked through the door and found Luke on the couch reading through case files. "Hey, thought you'd stay out later," he said when he saw Andy. He didn't even ask how she was. Buried in his cases, she wondered if he'd forgotten she'd been shot hours earlier.

"Luke, I need to talk to you," she said, walking over to him.

Luke said nothing, but put down the file he was reading, so Andy continued. "This isn't working."

"What do you mean? I love you, Andy," he said, reaching out for her only to have her pull away.

"But I don't. I think I love someone else," she responded. "I didn't mean for this to happen, but I need to follow my heart."

"Don't do this," he pleaded. "We can make this work. Whatever is wrong, we can fix it."

"No, Luke, it's nothing that can just be fixed. This is about _me_ and the fact I've been lying to myself," she said. "I can't do it anymore. I can't force something that isn't there."

Luke remained silent, shocked at what was happening. Andy felt bad, but she couldn't fake it anymore just to prevent him from being hurt. She started to walk out of the room, but turned back to face Luke. "I'm going over to Traci's, but I'll come back sometime to get the rest of my stuff."

With that, she went upstairs and packed a small suitcase. When she came down the stairs, suitcase in hand, Andy paused in the living room. "I'm sorry. I really am sorry," she said, and walked out the front door before Luke could respond.

"Everything okay?" Sam asked when she got back in his truck.

"It will be," she said, her lips curving into a small smile. "Can you take me to Traci's? It's probably best for me to stay with her for now."

Sam nodded as he pulled onto the street. As much as he wanted Andy to come home with him, a lot had happened to her today and he understood she needed her best friend right now.

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><p>Sam pulled up to Traci's building and jumped out to help Andy. He saw her grimace as she tried lifting her suitcase and immediately grabbed it from her. "I've got it," he said, and followed her to Traci's door.<p>

"Andy? Is everything – " Traci stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Sam was standing next to Andy at her doorstep. She looked back and forth between the two and then saw the suitcase. "Andy, what's going on?"

"Can I stay here tonight, Trace? I promise to explain," she replied.

"Of course, come in," Traci said, moving aside so her friend could enter the apartment.

Sam placed Andy's suitcase just inside the door and backed up. "I'm just gonna get going."

Andy walked over to him, conflicted. She wanted to be with him, but she needed to explain things to Traci. As usual, Sam looked into her eyes and knew the thoughts running through her head.

"It's been a long day. You need to rest," he said, placing the palm of his hand gently over where she got shot. The simple touch comforted her and Andy placed her hand over his and closed her eyes. Sam longed to kiss her again, but Traci was watching them with curious eyes. Not now, he decided. "I'll check on you tomorrow."

"Thank you, for everything," Andy said and watched Sam walk down the hallway before closing the door.

"Spill! What is going on?" Traci demanded.

Andy pulled her friend with her to the couch before she blurted it all out. "Sam kissed me. I kissed him. I broke up with Luke. I want to be with Sam. Trace, he feels the same way I do."

"Well, of course he does. Anyone could've told you that," Traci teased. "But how? When did this all happen."

Andy leaned back on the couch and began telling her friend about the events of the day. By the time she was done, she was finding it hard to keep her eyes open. Traci saw this and started to get the pull-out couch ready for friend. "Andy, you're welcome to stay here as long as you want," she said.

"Thanks, Trace," she replied, hugging Traci.

Andy's head had barely hit the pillow before she was sound asleep.

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><p>Back at his apartment, Sam lay in his bed staring up at the ceiling. He patted the empty side of his bed with his hand and wished he could have taken Andy home with him. He knew she needed a friend after everything that had happened today, but he wanted to hold her in his arms and fall asleep inhaling her scent. He shook his head at himself. He didn't want to rush her, push her into things before she was ready. <em>I don't want to do anything that makes her run<em>, he thought.

He licked his lips, remembering how Andy's tasted and with that thought on his mind drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, the response to this story has given me like a permanent smile over the last couple days. Thanks to everyone for reading, and for all the reviews, alerts and favorites!

This chapter takes place between episodes 2x01 & 2x02. Please let me know what you think. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Andy woke up the day after being shot to the hustle and bustle of the Nash house, as Traci and her mom got Leo ready for school, despite his many attempts to stall. Somehow they all made it out the door in time to get to school and work on schedule.

"Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. I'll be home after I pick Leo up after shift. If you need anything, just call," Traci instructed before running out the door.

Andy made breakfast and showered before flipping through some horrible daytime television. _How could Jo watch this crap for days on end_, she thought, remembering how the detective told her she watched tons of soaps when she had gotten shot. She turned the television off and picked up a magazine Traci had left lying around.

Her phone rang for the third time that morning. She sighed when she saw who it was again – Luke – and ignored the call. Andy knew he would call, but didn't want to talk to him. She said all she had to say last night. She felt bad, had never wanted to hurt him, but it was over. An hour later, when he called yet again, she reluctantly picked up.

"Andy, tell me last night was a mistake," Luke pleaded.

"It wasn't. I'm sorry. I don't mean to hurt you," she replied honestly.

"Look, I don't know what happened, if you thought you saw something yesterday. But Jo and I were partners years ago, just old friends," Luke said. After spending the night thinking about it, he was worried Andy saw Jo flirting with him.

_Jo? What did she have to do with any of this? _Andy wondered. "No Luke. Like I said last night, it has to do with me."

"Then you should know, I'm going to fight for you. I want you back," he said.

"Luke –"

"Don't say anything right now. Just know that," Luke said, pausing before continuing. "I'll let you go. Get some rest."

Andy put her phone down and frowned. She didn't want Luke fighting for her. It was a losing battle for him.

It was nearly lunchtime when her phone rang again, but Andy smiled when she saw it was Sam. "Hey."

"Hey there McNally. You doing okay?" Sam asked.

"Bored out of my mind. I wanna be back at work," she whined.

"You know the deal. A week," he said, knowing Frank would not budge on how long Andy had to stay home. "How about I come over with some Chinese food?"

"Aren't you working?" Andy asked.

"Switched swifts. So, how about it? Want some company?" Sam wanted to spend time with Andy, so he had begged an officer on the night shift to switch with him for the day.

"When can you get here?"

"I'll be there in half an hour. Want your usual?" They often got Chinese food on shift and Sam knew she almost always ordered the same thing.

"Yeah. Thanks Sam."

True to his word, 30 minutes later Sam was knocking on the door carrying a bag of Chinese food. "Hungry?" he asked as he placed the take-out containers on the coffee table.

"Starving," she said, carrying a couple sodas from the kitchen. "I never ate dinner last night and Leo's fruity cereal wasn't very filling this morning."

"You gonna stay here for a while?" he asked, digging into one of the takeout containers.

"Yeah," Andy replied, stuffing a forkful of food into her mouth. "I don't want to burden my dad, he's doing so well right now. And hopefully it won't take me too long to find my own place."

"Good, that's good." Sam was worried that after a night to think about everything Andy would return to Luke and the life she led 24 hours earlier.

They continued to chat, with Andy teasing Sam about who he'd get stuck riding with while she was on sick leave. Andy thought about how normal things felt despite all of the heaviness of the previous day. Between getting shot and breaking up with Luke, she thought seeing Sam might be awkward. She was glad it wasn't because she loved being around him. When Andy got quiet, Sam knew her mind was hard at work thinking about something. But when he saw a small smile creep up on her lips, he knew whatever had her mind over thinking was nothing for him to worry about.

"How are you feeling? How's the bruise?" Sam asked.

Andy raised her t-shirt to show Sam. "Hurts like hell, especially when I laugh."

"So, I shouldn't pull out anything from my joke book, huh?" he teased. That made Andy laugh, which caused her to grimace in pain.

"Sorry, sorry," Sam apologized, placing a hand on her leg.

"It's okay, Sam. It's just sore. They said it will be for a few days," Andy said.

Before Andy could lower her shirt, Sam grazed his knuckles lightly against the bruise. He hated seeing her hurt. Andy could see the sadness in his eyes and she slowly lowered her shirt. "Sam, I'm going to be alright."

He pulled his hand back quickly. He was here to cheer her up, not make her dwell on what happened. "So, what do you want to do this afternoon? I'm free until the night shift."

"It hurts to move around a lot. Can we just sit here?" she asked.

"Sure," he said, moving closer and putting an arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head on Sam's shoulder and briefly closed her eyes. She could stay there forever.

"Are you okay with everything that happened last night?" Sam asked. He had to make sure she didn't have any regrets, that anything she said or did wasn't caused by the heat of the moment after a traumatic experience.

"Would I have invited you in if I wasn't?" she responded as her lips curved into a smile.

When she tilted her head to look up at him, she saw Sam giving her one of his TO looks. The one he gave when he wasn't impressed with her answer to a question. She rolled her eyes.

"As long as you're okay…" Sam didn't know how to finish his thought, but he needed confirmation. He couldn't feel like he did after the night of the blackout, not again. It hurt too much.

"I'm okay. I want you here," she reassured him. She absentmindedly began drawing circles on his leg.

"You, uh, you want to go out to dinner when you're not in as much pain?" he asked hesitantly. Andy had been waiting for him to ask her out on a date. She smiled and began to nod when the top of her head connected hard with Sam's jaw.

"Oh my god, Sam! I'm so sorry!" she shrieked and pulled back to see him wincing and rubbing his jaw.

"Don't worry. I'm used to your abuse, McNally," he smirked. "It started the day we met when you jabbed your knee into my back when you tackled me."

Andy snorted. "I thought you were a criminal."

"Uh huh."

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine, but you do have a hard head," he said smiling.

She pulled his hand away from his face and began placing light kisses along his jaw. She intertwined her fingers with his as he nuzzled her nose before bringing his mouth to hers. The kiss deepened quickly and Sam shifted to lie down on the couch, bringing Andy with him, careful she wasn't putting weight on her bruised left side. Andy got lost in the kiss, sliding one hand up so her palm rested on Sam's chest when she felt something fall onto her back. She tried to ignore it but it felt like a blanket. _I don't have a blanket on my couch, _she thought. _What the - crap!_

She bolted up, wincing as she held herself up with one hand pressing on Sam's chest.

"Sam. We can't," she said breathlessly. "We're on Traci's couch."

As if just realizing that himself, he helped her sit up and grabbed the crochet blanket that had fallen off the back of the couch. "Right," he said, taking a deep breath to try and regulate his pounding heart.

Andy scooted to the other end of the couch and Sam saw the blush creep over her face. She felt like a teenager just caught by her parents making out with her boyfriend. She was biting her bottom lip, but started giggling as she looked at Sam and then back at herself.

They stayed at opposite ends of the couch until Sam had to leave for work.

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><p>Sam called Andy the next day. Told Oliver he was just checking on his partner when his friend looked at him curiously. So, maybe that was the second time that day he was checking on her. Sam ignored Oliver's stare as he chatted with Andy. He didn't know what he and Andy were yet, so why broadcast it, he figured.<p>

The day after that he was partnered with Traci. At least he didn't have to hide the calls to Andy. She was complaining to him about being bored and going stir crazy. He sympathized, knowing he'd be the same way.

On her fourth day at Traci's, Andy was raiding through the small amount of clothes she had with her when Traci came home after shift. "I have nothing cute to wear tonight," she complained.

"Did he tell you where he's taking you?" Traci asked.

"Someplace casual. He knows I didn't take any of my fancy stuff when I left Luke's," she replied.

Traci thumbed through the pile of clothes, finding what she called Andy's 'sexy jeans,' and handed them over. "What, am I supposed to go naked on top?" she joked, taking the jeans.

"As much as I'm sure Swarek would love that, no," Traci laughed. "Let me see if I have anything in my closet." She came back a few minutes later with a dark green short-sleeve chiffon blouse. It was simple but slightly fitted, so Traci thought it would help show off Andy's curves, which was perfect for her first official date with Sam.

"Thanks Trace. I'm so nervous." Butterflies had been fluttering around her stomach all afternoon and she took another deep breath to try and calm them.

She quickly showered and dressed, taking a little more time than usual. She was just finishing when there was a knock at the door.

Traci hid in her bedroom to give Andy and Sam privacy. When Andy opened the door, she was nearly bouncing with excitement, or nervousness, she wasn't sure exactly. Sam was flashing his dimples, which caused Andy to grin. "Hi," she said, looking him up and down, from his jeans, to the black shirt that hugged his muscles, to the leather jacket that completed his badass sexy look.

"Hey," Sam said, placing a quick kiss on her lips as he walked into the apartment. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me just grab my coat." Sam watched her walk to the closet, her chestnut hair falling loosely over her shoulders. He continued to admire the view of her long legs in the tight jeans as she shrugged into her coat.

Sam led her down to his truck and helped her in, not taking his eyes off of her the entire time. They rode in relative silence until reaching the Mexican restaurant he had chosen. It was one of his favorites and hoped Andy would enjoy it as much as he did. Andy saw where they were and couldn't remember if she had ever told Sam how much she enjoyed authentic Mexican food. She probably said something in passing and in true Sam fashion, he held onto that nugget of information. The aromas floating through the air were amazing and Andy was thrilled with his choice.

"This is delicious," Andy said after a few forkfuls of the food they ordered. "Seriously, this might become one of my favorite restaurants."

"I'm glad you like it," Sam said, pleased with himself that he made the right choice.

"How was work today? Who'd you get stuck patrolling with?" If Andy couldn't be back at work yet, she at least wanted to know what was happening back at the station.

"Oh it was a blast," he said sarcastically. "I was stuck in a car with Diaz. Let me recite you the rule book Diaz. It's gonna be my goal to loosen that kid up."

"He just wants to be a good cop," Andy said, thinking about how Chris' by the book methods and Sam's I-have-no-rules attitude could put the two at odds.

"Yeah, well, I can only take him in small doses," Sam replied. "Thing is, he has good instincts, could be a great guy for undercover work."

"Maybe you should take him under your wing, teach him a thing or two," Andy suggested.

"Why are we talking about Diaz again?"

"You were telling me about your day since I'm living vicariously through you and all my friends for now," Andy said.

"It wasn't too exciting. Arrested a couple drunk drivers and followed up on some evidence Jerry needed for a case," Sam said.

Conversation continued easily through dinner, with Sam and Andy sharing stories and laughing with each other. As Sam paid the bill, he glanced at his watch. "It's still early. Do you want to come back to my place? We could watch a movie or something," he suggested.

Andy was hoping he wouldn't take her back to Traci's yet. She wasn't ready for the night to be over and wanted to spend more time with Sam. "I'd like that," she said, sliding her arm through his as they walked to his truck.

When they arrived back at Sam's apartment, they shed their jackets and shoes before walking into the living room.

"Thirsty, hungry?" Sam asked nervously.

"No. We just had dinner," Andy replied with a small smile.

"Right." Why was he so nervous? Andy had been in his apartment before. "We could watch a movie, or, uh…"

Andy shook her head and stared into Sam's eyes. She knew what she wanted and was pretty sure he wanted the same thing. Seeing the invitation in her eyes, Sam walked over and slowly leaned his head down so his mouth hovered over hers for a moment. He nuzzled her nose with his before pressing his lips to hers. As the kiss deepened, Andy's hands cupped the back of his head and Sam's hands slid up her side and grazed her chest before coming to rest on her face.

Sam couldn't get enough of Andy, her touch, her scent, the way she relaxed under his hands that roamed her body. He began sucking gently on her neck and smiled when she moaned. He nuzzled her nose again and her eyes flickered open when his face remained there. He stared into her eyes, as if asking for permission and Andy nodded with a smile.

Before she knew it, Sam had picked her up bridal style and was carrying her to his bedroom. He laid her down gently on the bed, hovering over her for a moment before pulling back so he could remove his shirt. Andy laid her hand on his chest as he hovered over her again. Placing kisses along her jaw and neck, his hand found the hem of her blouse, tugging on it a moment before sliding underneath and splaying his fingers over her stomach. Andy ran her hands through Sam's hair as his lips found hers again and their tongues danced together. As he pulled her blouse over her head, Sam knew this was the point of no return. "Are you sure?" he asked between kisses.

"Mmmhmm," she sighed.

He needed to hear her say it, to be sure she was ready for this and wouldn't run away later. "Andy?" he said, pulling back from her. "Andy?"

"Sam," she said breathlessly. "Now, who's allergic to silence," she smiled. "I want this, Sam. So, shut up and kiss me."

Smiling, he brought his lips to hers and soon all their clothes were in a pile on the floor.

* * *

><p>They lay together, legs intertwined, Andy partly on top of him, Sam's arms circled around her. She propped her head on her hands, which were flat against his chest. Andy smiled up at Sam, as he stared at her, thinking how beautiful she was. "Penny for your thoughts?" she asked.<p>

Sam started drawing circles on her back. "You're beautiful," he said, making Andy blush. She lowered her head so her cheek was touching his chest, and her hand moved up to rub his neck softly.

"I'm happy," she said. "For the first time in a long time, I'm really happy."

"You deserve to be happy."

"I'm sorry it took me so long," she said quietly.

"Huh?"

"Ya know, to realize this," she said, waving her hand between them, "was what would make me happy."

Sam hugged her tighter and Andy responded by kissing his chest.

"Go to sleep, you're still healing and I won't be the cause of delaying your return to patrol. I can only deal with the other rookies for so long," Sam joked.

Andy giggled, but closed her eyes, and as her breathing evened out, it lulled Sam to sleep.

* * *

><p>When Andy walked into Traci's apartment the next morning, Traci thought her friend exuded happiness. "How was your date?" she asked, as she prepared breakfast for Leo.<p>

"It was great. We went to this cute little Mexican restaurant," she said with a toothy grin. "There wasn't any awkwardness. It was just us, it was perfect."

"I'm happy for you Andy, for the both of you," Traci said, hugging her friend.

"Thanks Trace. I'm just sorry I had my head in the sand for so long and missed seeing what was right in front of me," she said.

"Was it good?" Traci asked, obviously referring to the activities that kept her friend from coming home last night.

Andy blushed and glanced at Leo, who was intently eating his cereal, before responding. "Heavenly!"


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter takes place during episode 2x02. Reviews are wonderful little gifts, so please let me know what you think. :) Thanks again for all the reviews, favorites and alerts!

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

She'd been back at work a week when Andy saw Sam, Chris, Oliver and Frank talking to some guy she'd never seen before. Traci told her he was Patrick Murphy, a former cop and the owner of a club that had some problems the night before. Andy wondered why he was here, but shrugged it off and headed to the homicide detectives' office. It was just her luck that she'd been assigned to help Luke and Jo with a case. And of course it had to be the last big case the two detectives worked on before Luke came to 15 Division.

An hour later she sat listening to the most boring interrogation ever. And if Jo came by joking about the hitman's "I'm not saying anymore scum bucket" comment one more time, she might throw her coffee at the detective. Andy sighed and hit rewind, realizing she tuned out the last minute or two of the recording. Refocusing, she hit play and continued making sure Luke and Jo's notes matched up with the interrogation.

Sam found her hunched over the desk, headphones on, eyes focused on a file in front of her. As he stood in the doorway staring for a moment, Andy could feel his eyes on her. She had this odd way of always knowing when he was staring at her; she could just feel it, like his eyes were touching her. Sam didn't know how she did it, how she knew he was nearby before he could make a sound. He guessed it was some sixth sense, the same one that allowed them to communicate with each other with only their eyes.

She clicked off the tape recorder and pulled off the headphones as she looked up at him. "Please save me," she begged. Her doe-eyed stare would get him every time, but this time it wasn't even needed. Sam had been instructed by Frank to inform Andy and Gail about their latest assignment.

"I'm always here to save the day," he said, smiling. "I need you and Peck for an undercover operation tonight."

"Really?" she asked, eyes wide open. Sam smiled at her surprise.

"Yup. Frank's wants you and her to find out who's dealing drugs at this club owned by a former cop. Meet me at my desk in five, and I'll give you all the details," he replied. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he quickly leaned down to steal a kiss.

"Sam!" she squealed, blushing.

He chuckled as he left the office to get the equipment Andy and Gail would need.

Andy feigned annoyance and thought back to the conversation they had when they spent Sam's day off together, the day before she came back to work.

"_I've been thinking –"_

"_Over thinking things again?" Sam teased._

"_I'm serious," Andy said, as they held hands walking through a park._

"_Sorry, go on," he said, curious where this conversation was going._

"_I'm back at work tomorrow, and I don't, uh, want everyone knowing my business. I mean, no one really even knows I broke up with Luke yet, so, um." Andy didn't want Sam to think she wanted to keep their relationship a secret, but she also didn't want to become known as the slut of 15 Division either. "Can we just not, uh, announce 'us' yet? Just keep it professional while we're at the station. Just for now."_

_Sam figured this was going to come up at some point. He'd be willing to shout from the rooftops that they were together, but he knew where she was coming from. She was still considered a rookie and had a lot to prove, while trying to overcome any preconceptions people had of the McNally name from her father. He put his arm around her waist, pulling her close. "I get it, okay. We'll keep this quiet while we're around our co-workers until you're ready."_

_Andy was so thankful he understood, but she shouldn't have been surprised. He always got her, knew what she was feeling, sometimes even before she did. She turned so she could place a kiss on his lips. "Thank you."_

"_I guess this screws my plan for afternoon make-out sessions in the interrogation room though," he joked, flashing his dimples._

_Andy rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but laugh._

Getting up from the desk she was sitting at, Andy went off to find Gail so Sam could clue them in on their undercover mission.

Sam informed them they'd be going undercover as cocktail waitresses and needed to find out who was dealing drugs at the club, and get picture or audio evidence if they were able to. They were given clean phones to use with microphones in them that would broadcast any conversation into the cover van, where Sam, Jerry and Traci would be providing backup. After getting some tips from a frustrated Traci, who knew she would have been great at the operation if she hadn't been burned at the location the night before, Andy pulled out the black top and skirt that would be her uniform. She was slipping into her three-inch heals when Sam walked into the locker room.

He needed to catch his breath after seeing how sexy Andy looked. He swallowed hard, trying to get the thoughts out of his head, otherwise they'd never make it to the club. "You ready for this?" he asked.

Andy saw the heat in Sam's eyes and quickly threw her jacket on. "Yup, all set," she replied.

Andy and Gail drove to the club with Sam, Jerry and Traci trailing them in the cover van.

An hour into their first shift, Andy realized how horrible of a waitress Gail was. But Andy tried to focus on herself and the job, trying to remember all the drink orders as she casually prodded for information that might help them figure out who was dealing the drugs. Frank had told them he wanted answers quick, but Andy and Gail came up empty the first night. It wasn't until night two that they made some headway, when Andy was able to show Sam a photo of the bartender's boyfriend, who they thought was dealing the drugs. Their hunch turned out to be correct when Sam found out the boyfriend was none other than drug dealer Russell Mackie, who was wanted for trafficking and conspiracy to traffic. Unfortunately, that was going to make things more difficult, as was Gail getting fired for abusing a customer.

Before Andy headed to the club for her third shift, she sat at her desk eating dinner. Sam slid into the chair next to her and swiped some chips from the bag lying next to her sandwich. "You okay going in there alone tonight?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course. It'll be fine," she replied between bites. "I mean, you'll be there, right outside."

Sam knew he shouldn't be worried. She was a great cop. But she would be in the club without backup and without a wire. He wished he could be in there with her. "Look, uh, just, you know, be safe."

"I will. Maybe with Gail gone, it'll be easier to get Tori to open up to me," she said, referring to the bartender who was Russell's girlfriend.

It turned out that without Gail, Andy had double the tables to handle and she found there was even less time to talk to Tori. Once the club closed for the night, Andy took her time restocking the alcohol, hoping she could find a way to start up a conversation with her. As if reading her mind, Tori asked if she wanted a drink.

Andy sat down with Tori and listened to her talk about her boyfriend. When she paused to text him, Andy took the opportunity to turn on the microphone in her phone. Sam, Jerry and Traci were impressed when they heard Andy's voice coming through the speaker in the van.

"Yeah, and he's probably really sexy, right? And smart and funny, and you can't keep your hands off of him," Andy said, thinking about Sam. He told her to keep it real, tell the truth, and she smiled thinking about how true her comment was.

"Sounds like you know him," Tori responded with curiosity.

"Mmhmm, I know the type," Andy replied. She needed to find a way to get more information on Russell. "So, um, what does your guy do for a living?" Andy asked.

"Oh, he does all kinds of things, most of them illegal," Tori admitted, taking a sip of her drink.

"That must be hard," Andy replied, hoping she'd elaborate on her boyfriend's illegal activities.

"It's hopeless. I keep trying to end it and he just ignores me for weeks. I don't hear from him, he doesn't call and then he just shows up. Ya know, Russell's never even said he loves me," Tori said sadly.

Andy didn't really care whether Russell loved Tori or not, but she had to keep up the girl talk in hopes of getting the information she needed. "I'm sure he does," she reassured her.

"Why can't guys like that just come out and say the way they feel?"

"I _wish_ I knew," Andy said, taking a sip of her drink.

"So, your guy's like that?" Tori prodded.

"Uh, Sam, no, he's great," Andy said.

"He tells you he loves you?"

"We're, uh, we're not there yet," she replied. Andy thought back to when she said 'I love you' to Luke. He had said it first. She hadn't been prepared to say it, but it seemed like the next step, part of life's plan, like the thing she was _supposed_ to do. So, she said it. But it was just words, there was no feeling behind it, at least on her part. She'd repeat it from time to time, mostly when Luke said it first, because that was what she was _supposed_ to do. The next time she said those words, it was going to be because she couldn't imagine life without that person. She was going to let her heart tell her when to say it.

"I don't want to hear it just to hear it, ya know? I want him to mean it. I want to mean it when I say it," Andy continued.

Sam sat in the van listening to Andy speak about love. He already knew he loved her, but was afraid she'd run if he told her this early in their relationship. And her words confirmed that for him. He was going to have to wait, maybe let her say it first.

Andy was uncomfortable talking about love and Sam, especially when he was listening along with Traci and Jerry, but couldn't figure out how to get the conversation back to a place where Tori would talk about Russell and his illegal activities. So, when Russell came bursting in at that moment, she was a bit relieved, until he started waving a gun around.

* * *

><p>Sam left the observation room after watching Oliver talk to Patrick Murphy and ran into Andy as she was walking through the squad room.<p>

"Good work tonight. Smart, kept it real," Sam said. Even if the job hadn't gone according to plan, he was proud of Andy, how she acted through the whole operation.

"I just stuck with it, the way I was taught," she replied, smiling.

"Must've had an awesome TO," he smirked.

"Eh, he was okay. Kinda full of himself," she teased.

"Yeah, then who taught you how to be amazing?" he asked.

"This smart, funny, sexy guy I work with taught me how to be a great cop," she said with a seductive grin.

"I bet if you wait about 10 minutes, this smart, sexy guy could meet you at his truck and drive you home."

Andy started to walk away, moving backwards so she still faced him. "If he's lucky, maybe I will," she said, winking before she turned around and headed outside.

* * *

><p>A week later, Andy spent her day off with Traci packing up the rest of her things from Luke's. She was thankful he was at work so she wouldn't have to face him. Sam had reluctantly allowed her to use his truck because she knew all of her stuff wouldn't fit into Traci's small car. She smiled, recalling the conversation from the night before.<p>

_Andy was curled up next to Sam, her head comfortable in the crook of his neck. Knowing Sam was in a _very_ good mood, she took a chance._

"_So, uh, tomorrow Traci and I are packing the rest of my stuff up at Luke's," she said._

"_Yeah? Good. I'd offer my help, but probably best I'm not there," he replied._

"_Uh, yeah, but you could still help me out. Like, if I could borrow your truck so we didn't have to make multiple trips with Traci's car." Andy bit her bottom lip while she waited for his response._

"_You want to borrow my truck?" he asked incredulously with eyes open wide._

_Andy looked up at him with a hopeful smile. Sam knew he shouldn't have looked down at her. It was his weakness. That smile of hers, the deep brown doe eyes. He'd give her the world, if she asked for it._

"_Just remember, the brakes –"_

"_Are touchy. I know." Andy leaned up to kiss him. "Thank you."_

_Sam shook his head. If Oliver ever knew how wrapped around her finger he was, his friend would never let him live it down._

Andy and Traci packed up the few things of hers in the living room and kitchen, and while Traci took those boxes out to the truck, Andy started packing up her clothes. She dug her large suitcase out of the closet and quickly threw everything into it.

Andy packed the last of her clothes and placed what little jewelry she had in a small pocket on the inside of the suitcase. She zipped the suitcase closed before realizing she forgot about her grandmother's earrings that her dad had given her years ago. They were a family heirloom and Luke insisted on putting them in his lockbox because they were so valuable.

Opening the lockbox, Andy grabbed a small felt box containing the earrings, but it was another small shiny silver and gold box that caught her eye. It was shaped like a small present and Andy couldn't help but pick it up, fingering it in her hands for a few moments before opening it. She didn't have time to process the engagement ring inside when a figure appeared in the doorway.

"Andy," Luke said. "This wasn't – you weren't supposed to see that."

"What is this Luke?" she demanded. "You wanted to get married? You were going to propose?"

Luke made a split-second decision. She didn't need to know when he bought the ring or who he had offered it to first. If finding it kept her here, he was all for her finding it. "Yes. Obviously, not like this, but I love you Andy. I want you in my life. Stay."

Andy was shocked. What if he had proposed before Sam kissed her? Would she have said yes? "I, uh, I can't. I broke up with you," she stammered. She started to hand the ring box to Luke, but he stopped her.

"Keep it, think about it. Please. I love you, Andy."

Traci came up the stairs at that moment, saving Andy from further conversation. "Ready to go?" she asked.

Andy stuffed both the earring and ring boxes in her suitcase before Traci could notice what was in her hand. "Uh, yeah, all ready," she said, lifting her suitcase and following Traci downstairs, all the while consciously ignoring Luke.


	4. Chapter 4

I think I shocked some people last chapter with Andy finding & keeping the ring. It's just that finding the ring/the engagement played such a big part of the season I wanted to include it in some way….and I love a little angst here and there. :) All will be revealed about the ring in this chapter, which takes place during episode 2x03.

Reviews are wonderful, so please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

It had been less than 24 hours since Andy found the engagement ring and she was preoccupied thinking about it. As she gazed out the cruiser's window as Sam drove, she couldn't figure out why she took it with her. It seemed easier at the time – stuff it in her suitcase and forget about it. But she couldn't forget about it. Sam noticed she was in her own world, and thought about how she hadn't seemed herself when she dropped his truck off the night before. He was about to bring it up and make sure she was okay when they were called to a multi-vehicle accident.

Three severed heads was definitely not what they expected to find in the trunk of one of the cars. It did take Andy's mind off the ring, however. She cringed and tried not to look as Jerry and Sam discussed the gender of the heads.

Sam quickly began to wish he hit the man fleeing the scene once they discovered he stopped taking his anti-psychotics and then decided to steal the heads from the hospital he worked at. Andy had a bad feeling when she learned this Daniel Baird guy had become obsessed with her after she tried asking him questions at the hospital. The feeling only got worse when the radio crackled to life with a disturbance on the street where she had lived with Luke.

"That's the street where Luke lives," Andy said when she heard the location over the radio. "Why would – oh god, he's trying to find me."

They rushed to the scene, arriving to find Dov handcuffing Daniel Baird, and Gail holding up a gun that wasn't hers. Andy recognized it as Luke's and began running toward the condo she shared with him for a short time. Sam was close behind. When she entered the condo, she immediately saw Luke lying on the floor, a pool of blood under him.

"Luke! It's me, Andy," she said, tears filling her eyes. She might have broken up with him, but she still cared about him as a friend. She never wanted anything bad to happen to him. As she stared at the blood gushing out of him, all of Andy's police instincts flew out the window. She didn't think about radioing for help and simply called out for Sam as she pressed her hands over Luke's wounds.

Sam found her kneeling next to Luke's body, blood covering her hands as she tried to stop the bleeding. He radioed the situation in before trying to get Andy under control. "He's breathing. Cloths, get some cloths from the kitchen. Hey, McNally! Get some cloths or towels or whatever from the kitchen, alright. He's still alive."

Andy tore through the kitchen, not remembering which drawer held the towels. So, she grabbed one off the counter, along with several plastic baggies.

"Alright, just apply pressure there. That's it. It's going to be alright," Sam tried reassuring Andy. When that didn't work, he knew what would. He had to get her to focus on him. "Look at me, it's going to be fine. He's still alive. Just stay with me."

He made sure she kept her eyes on him, that she didn't look at the quickly growing pool of blood on the floor. He held one hand over hers, hoping to help comfort her. He kept her eyes on his, although he couldn't read them like he usually could. He stayed like that until paramedics arrived and carted Luke off on a stretcher. As Andy walked back to the cruiser, weaving through the other officers who responded to the scene, she was in a daze and Sam couldn't figure out what she was thinking or feeling.

* * *

><p>It was hours later when Sam, Andy and half the division was filling the hospital's hallway. She had washed Luke's blood off her hands. Scrubbed so hard her hands were raw. And now she sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair waiting for news on whether Luke would survive. Jo arrived, explaining how Andy's business card was found on Daniel Baird and he must have tracked down the house by looking up her name. Jo did little to hide the blame she put on Andy for being the cause of Luke getting shot. That was when Andy sat back in the chair and tears fell down her cheeks.<p>

"It's my fault," she muttered. "This is all my fault."

"Ignore her," he said, nodding toward Jo. "You are not to blame for some crazy guy shooting Callaghan."

"He got to him because of me," she said, standing up to pace. "It should be me lying in there not him. Daniel Baird wanted _me_."

Sam was about to comfort Andy, when a doctor came out informing Frank that they removed all the bullets and Luke was going to be fine. When the doctor asked if there was any family, Andy thought about the engagement ring buried in her suitcase at Traci's. Frank responded that the family couldn't get there until the next day, and that's when Jo stepped forward pleading she be allowed to see him because they were old friends and lovers. The doctor relented and let her in the ICU. Andy's eyes followed Jo down the hall, repeating the word 'lovers' in her head. _They had dated?_ She thought back to the looks she'd seen Luke and Jo share since she transferred to their division and it all started to make sense. Andy wondered if they'd slept together since she was back and was surprised when a twinge of jealousy hit.

As Sam watched Andy continue to pace the hallway, he wondered if she still had feelings for the detective. There was something about the look in her eyes. He couldn't really explain it, but it made his heart break a little. If she left him, he knew he couldn't sit by and watch. If that happened he'd sit in a wire room for Guns and Gangs all day if it meant not having to see her with someone else day after day. Sam shook the thoughts out of his head.

Andy looked down at the stained tile floor as she paced. She glanced over at Sam, then to the door of the ICU. What was she supposed to do? This was her fault. Maybe if she hadn't moved out, maybe if she hadn't given the girl her card, maybe if she'd been more aware that Daniel was trying to find her and warned Luke – the maybe's and what if's were haunting her.

Maybe Luke getting hurt and finding the ring were signs. Maybe the universe was telling her he was part of her life plan. Heck, she had broken up with him and he still refused to leave her. And Sam, well, he loved undercover work and it was only a matter of time until he left on another deep cover assignment. No matter what he said, she knew he couldn't stay away from that, and eventually he'd leave her and break her heart. She didn't know if she could handle that.

They eventually headed back to the station, but the silence in the cruiser worried Sam. Something was wrong, but he wasn't going to push her. After changing out of his uniform, Sam walked into the women's locker room and as he hoped, Andy was still there. She glanced over at him before continuing to place things in her bag.

"Need a ride?" he asked, sitting next to her.

"Uh, no, Traci's just about to leave, so I'll catch a ride with her." Andy couldn't look Sam in the eye, so she fidgeted with her bag.

"Andy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine, Sam."

He knew she wasn't though. "Is this about Callaghan?" he asked, afraid of the answer.

"I just need to be alone, to think through some things. I'm just, things are confusing right now," Andy replied. She looked up at Sam not knowing what else to say, but the look on her face said it all.

He got up, ready to walk out, but hesitated and leaned against the lockers. "It's not difficult Andy. You either want to be with me or him."

Andy looked up at Sam and sighed. "I feel like the universe has a plan for me, that maybe I've been trying to fight that plan."

"Your entire life doesn't have to follow a plan. It's okay to go with your gut, or your heart," he said softly.

Throughout her life, she followed plans, five year plans, ten year plans. She always had her life figured out. "Plans are good," she said.

"I bet you were one of those kids who saved her Halloween candy and made it last all year, huh?" Sam questioned, trying to hide his frustration.

"And what, you were the kid who ate all his candy in one night?" she asked smirking.

"No, just the good stuff, then I threw the rest out," he replied.

"See, you can't do that, you've got to save the good stuff," she said.

"Save it? What for?"

"I don't know, later."

"Why are we talking about candy?" Sam asked.

"You brought it up."

"So, you have plans," Sam said, getting back to where the conversation started.

"Look, I've always had plans. You follow a plan and you can't get hurt by something unexpected. Plans got me through living without a mom, through college, the academy, reaching my goal to become a cop. Plans work for me, or they did," she said, the last words coming out at almost a whisper.

Sam looked down at her, urging her to continue.

"My plan called for finding a nice boyfriend, finally choosing the good guy, the safe guy, the guy who couldn't hurt me," she said, rolling her eyes at herself. "We'd meet, move in together, get engaged, get married, have kids. It was all in the plan."

"And Callaghan fits nicely into that plan." Sam wasn't sure if he was asking a question or stating a fact.

"I didn't expect my head and my heart to, uh, pull me in two different directions, with two different plans. I'm just, uh, it's confusing. I need time to sort through my feelings," she said.

If Andy kept talking she was going to break down in tears, and she couldn't let that happen in front of Sam right now. So, she picked up her bag and quietly made her way out of the locker room to find Traci. Sam sighed as he pushed himself off the lockers. The happiness that had filled his heart in recent weeks was replaced with sadness, and he walked out of the station feeling crushed. He headed home to drown his sorrows.

* * *

><p>Andy lay awake most of the night having an internal debate. From the first day on the job, she had wanted Sam. Dreamed about him more than she cared to admit over the last year. But she didn't know if she could handle it if, no when, he left her and went back to deep undercover work. She couldn't allow herself to fall in love if it was going to hurt so much when he left. Then there was Luke. There was no chance he would ever go undercover. He would be there, at least physically, even if he was tuned out emotionally.<p>

_But that's it_, she thought. _Luke was never there for her. Sam _always_ was._ She didn't know why she was fighting what she wanted. Just because Luke had been part of her plan and he had planned on proposing, just because he had gotten shot because of her; those weren't reasons to choose him. She needed to choose the person who stole her heart from the moment she laid eyes on him, and that was Sam.

She tossed and turned most of the night and when morning came, Andy knew what she had to do. She showered quickly and told Traci she had to run an errand before going into the station for their afternoon shift.

Andy walked to the hospital, needing the fresh air to clear her thoughts and think about what she was going to say when she got there. She walked into Luke's hospital room to find him sitting in bed laughing as Jo popped balloons all around him. She knocked on the door to announce her presence and Jo looked up first. "McNally."

"Don't let me interrupt," Andy said, walking over to Luke's bed.

"It's not like that, Andy," Luke said. He tried to reach out and touch her, but Andy carefully kept herself at a distance from him.

"Whatever. I'm not sticking around anyway. I came to give this back," she said, pulling the ring box from her pocket, fingering it with her hands for a moment. "I don't want this, Luke. I shouldn't have even taken it." She reached out and placed the box on the bed. "I'm moving on. I've found happiness and it's not with you. I'm sorry."

"How long have you been sleeping with Swarek?" he accused.

"Nothing happened while we were together," she said.

"Yeah, sure," he said, not believing her.

"You know what? The fact you still can't trust me just proves we shouldn't be together. Take the ring, put it back where I _found _it. Goodbye Luke," she said, walking out before he could say another word.

Andy left Luke's room knowing she did the right thing. He had just been filling in while she had to wait for Sam. He was the guy that prevented her from sleeping with Sam while he was still TO, which would have gotten them both in massive amounts of trouble. He was there when she couldn't have Sam. But now she could. Everything was falling into place for her.

She leaned back against the wall, exhaling loudly. Smiling, she took out her phone and pressed speed dial 2 for Sam. She was disappointed when the call went to voicemail, but she couldn't wait to see him to tell him what she needed to say.

"Hey, uh, look, I just wanted to say that I, I know that I've got a plan, ya know. And it's a great one. But screw it. Screw the plan because I don't want to save the good candy for later anymore, ya know," she said, stumbling over her words and not being nearly as eloquent as she wanted. "All I want is you. I'm coming over."

As she was hanging up, she heard Luke and Jo talking and couldn't help but overhear.

"You gave her _my_ ring," she heard Jo say.

"It was never your ring, you said no," Luke replied. "She found it, which was great by me. I wanted her to say yes, to stay with me."

"She left you!"

"I want her back. Swarek doesn't deserve her," he said.

Andy shook her head as she walked away.

* * *

><p>Sam got out of the shower and while he was getting dressed noticed he had a missed call. He grabbed his phone, hitting the button to call his voicemail while he walked out to the living room. He smiled when he heard Andy's voice talking about good candy.<p>

He barely had time to wonder how long it would take her to get there when there was a knock at the door. He opened the door and saw Andy standing there. "So, I'm the good candy, huh?" he asked, his dimples on full display.

Andy blushed. "You're the good candy," she confirmed before launching herself toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck and planting her lips on his. When they parted, she took his hand and led him to the couch. She had more to say than vague comparisons to candy.

Sitting on his couch, facing him with her legs pulled up to her chest, she didn't know where to begin. "I'm sorry, Sam. I don't know why I had any doubts about us. It was stupid," she said, resting her chin on her knees. "I probably have no right being here right now, asking you to forget how stupid I was, to forgive me."

"Andy, you've had a rough time of it lately. It's a lot for anyone to handle. But I just wish you'd talk to me when you're feeling that way. Don't push me away," he said, brushing the back of his hand up and down her leg.

"I don't want to push you away. I didn't mean to," she continued. "I just - You should know something, part of what had me messed up yesterday. When I was packing my stuff up at Luke's, I found an engagement ring." Sam's eyebrows quirked up hearing about the ring, but he let Andy continue. "Thinking he was going to propose and then him getting shot because of me –"

"That wasn't your fault," he interrupted.

"Still, it all just threw me and I needed time to process it. I'm sorry I wasn't more open with you." Andy looked at her fidgeting hands. Afraid of what Sam might say, she couldn't look him in the eye. He probably thought she was crazy and couldn't deal with someone as nuts as her.

"And the ring? Where is it now?" Sam asked, more from curiosity than being worried she kept it.

Andy looked up to meet Sam's gaze. "Back with Luke. It wasn't even for me."

Sam briefly wondered who the ring was meant for, but that's not what he wanted to focus on. "Are you ready to put all of this behind you? To focus on us going forward?" he asked.

She let out a deep breath and smiled. "Absolutely. I wasn't even sure you'd take me back after how I acted."

Sam shook his head. This woman was going to give him gray hair, but he could never stop loving her, even if he hadn't told her yet. He pulled her onto his lap and nuzzled her nose with his. "Just don't make a habit out of it," he smiled.

Andy rested her head on Sam's shoulder and let her fingers draw shapes on the back of his neck. "Do you think the universe has a plan for us?" she asked.

"Again with the plans?" Sam rolled his eyes, even though she couldn't see them.

Andy laughed. "Okay, disregard that question."

"But I do have a plan," she said, slapping Sam playfully when he sighed. "The plan is that I don't care if the whole world knows about us. I don't want to hide it from our friends and co-workers anymore."

Andy could feel Sam's smile as he kissed the top of her head. "Sounds like a good plan to me," he said, hugging her closer.

* * *

><p>AN: I realize I rushed Luke's recovery, but I needed it to fit my timeline with Andy going to see Sam the next day. And I didn't want to postpone their happy reunion. :)


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter takes place during episodes 2x04 and 2x05. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for all the alerts, favorites, and especially reviews. They encourage me to keep writing. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

Sam watched Andy leave the parade room with Chris and was annoyed to be stuck at the station instead of on patrol with her. But he was forced to work with Jo since she needed information that only one of Sam's CI's could provide. He didn't pay much attention to the chatter about the fire at the Laundromat until Frank announced he wanted everyone at the scene since it looked like arson.

Sam was already on his way when he heard Oliver over the radio calling for Andy. All color drained from his face and he immediately flipped on the lights and sirens as he sped to the scene, screeching to a halt in the parking lot when he arrived.

Oliver saw Sam jump out of the cruiser and knew he had to work damage control before his friend did something stupid. "You're not going in there. Anybody barges in, the roof could come down. Okay? Fire's called for backup," Oliver said, debating whether he was going to have to physically restrain his friend or not.

"What the hell were you doing, letting her go in there in the first place?" Sam demanded.

"Obviously, I didn't _let_ her. Sam, she's fine," he said, not insulted when Sam accused him. He knew what Andy meant to his friend.

Sam restrained himself from going into the burnt out Laundromat and let the firefighters do their job as they waited for backup to arrive. He may have taken a step or two toward the building a few times, but he fought the urge to barge in and rescue her himself. And not for a second did he stop thinking about her and worry that she was hurt.

He spoke to her a couple times, over the radio and the phone, trying to reassure her everything would be okay. He could tell she was scared by the sound of her voice. No one else would notice, but there was a slight tremor as she spoke, as she told Sam they were uncomfortable. So, he did what he did best, gave her his TO voice, instructing her about things he realized she already knew, but hoped it would help her stay calm. _Keep her focused on standing still, focused on preventing the wife from touching anything, not the possibility that the building could collapse on top of her at any moment, _he thought. Maybe it was to keep himself calm too.

"Where the hell is backup?" Sam muttered, looking at his watch. He knew he wasn't going to be of any help to the investigation going on, so he just stood there thinking about how scared he was to lose Andy. Not just today, but anytime she found herself in danger.

Oliver saw his friend sulking near a fire truck and walked over. "They're gonna get her out of there. Sam, these guys know what they're doing," he said.

Sam didn't want to talk. "I know," he said, hoping Oliver would get the hint and walk away.

"Good. When she's out might be a good time to talk to her," Oliver said.

"About what?" Sam asked, half amused that his friend was actually going to vocalize his thoughts about Andy instead of giving him weird pointed looks in her direction.

Oliver couldn't believe Sam was making him spell it out for him. He knew good and well what he was getting at. "About, I don't know, whatever," he ended up saying.

Sam felt bad. Oliver was just trying to nudge him, not knowing he no longer needed the help. He couldn't let his friend struggle trying to find the right words any longer, so he spilled the news. "We already talked," he said, trying to keep a straight face, but failing miserably as a huge smile broke out.

"What?" Oliver was genuinely shocked.

"We haven't gotten around to telling everyone, but yeah, the day she was shot we talked. She broke up with Callaghan and, well, you know, we're, uh, we're good," Sam explained.

Oliver slapped his friend on the back. "Good for you brother, good for you," he congratulated before pointing at a fire truck arriving on scene. "Look, backup's here."

As Sam followed the firefighters into the Laundromat he ignored Oliver calling out to him. He had to be there when they pulled Andy out. When a hole in the wall was cut away, Sam didn't see Andy immediately. He saw the wife and held his hand out to help her through the opening, but his eyes searched the rest of the room. And then he saw her, chestnut hair pulled back in a braid and full of soot, face smeared with dirt, eyes filled with worry and relief. He resisted the urge to jump through the wall and carry her out. Instead, he braced his arms on her waist to help her through the opening as she reached out for him.

Andy wasn't surprised that Sam was there, probably disobeying orders to join the firefighters in the rescue. He was always there for her. She was afraid her voice would be too shaky from emotion if she tried to speak, so instead she hoped Sam could read the appreciation in her eyes. He could. The firefighters began leading the way out of the building, but Andy hesitated. She threw her arms around Sam in a hug, hands pressed firmly against his back. Sam ran one hand down her braid while the other circled her waist.

"Thank you," she mumbled into his chest.

"We gotta get out of here," he said, gently urging her to follow the firefighters with a hand placed at the small of her back.

As her feet splashed through the puddles of water in the Laundromat Andy thought again about how Sam was always there for her, always there when it mattered. She regretted ever entertaining the idea of going back to Luke and accepting his lame ass proposal. She didn't care what the universe had to say, she wasn't letting Sam go.

He walked her over to the ambulance, insisting she get checked out despite her protests that she was fine. "Sam, I'm fine. Really. It's just dirt," Andy said, brushing soot off her clothes.

Sam stared at her and she recognized the 'not taking no for an answer' glare in his eyes, so she reluctantly sat on the bumper of the ambulance and let a paramedic check her out. Sam stood only inches from her. "What were you thinking going in there?" he asked, forcing himself not to yell at her.

"I was doing my job. An innocent woman ran in the building looking for her husband," she replied. "What was I supposed to do?"

The paramedic gave Andy the all clear and she stood up, pulling Sam behind a fire truck where there was more privacy. "Sam. Sam, look at me." She nudged him with her shoulder when his eyes continued to focus on something in the sky.

When he eventually moved his gaze down to her face, she saw that his eyes were glistening. "I almost lost you," he said, circling his arms around her waist and pulling her close as he leaned back against the fire truck.

"But you didn't," she said softly, bringing her hands up to rest on his chest. "I'm okay."

Sam lowered his lips to Andy's for a kiss and she slid her hands up to the back of his neck. When they parted, Andy spoke again. "It's part of the job. It's part of what we both face every day."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it or it'll ever get easier," Sam said, resting his forehead on hers.

"Nope." Andy couldn't fault Sam for being so concerned. She knew she'd be the same way if the roles were reversed. She also knew there was going to come a time when Sam was in danger and she would be freaking out. It was bound to happen someday with their jobs.

Sam took a deep breath. "Jo's gonna be looking for you," he said, although he was reluctant to let Andy out of his arms.

"I should go get that over with then," she replied. Andy kissed Sam quickly, before backing away to go find the detective.

* * *

><p>When Andy got back to the station, she couldn't wait to shower. She felt disgusting with all the dirt and soot on her. As she showered and changed, she thought back on the afternoon. Jo may not have believed her, but Andy trusted her gut, and she and the other rookies had gotten to the bottom of what happened. She felt good.<p>

As she slid her boots on, Andy thought about her conversation with Ron Hannah's wife Lidia. In trying to keep the woman calm, Andy told her that it didn't matter if life didn't work out how she planned it, but what mattered was her and her husband loved each other. That was when Lidia cried because she had never told her husband she loved him. Andy thought about what could have happened at the Laundromat. The building could have collapsed and she could be dead, and Sam would never know she loved him.

Andy walked into the men's locker room and grinned when she caught a glimpse of Sam's bare chest as he pulled his shirt on. She sat on the bench near his locker, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them with her arms. "Thanks again for rescuing me," she said, smiling up at him.

Sam wanted to yell at her for going into that building, for risking her life, but he could only smile as she sat there so innocently, her big brown eyes looking up at him. Ignoring the danger she put herself in, Sam was proud of her for trusting her instincts. "Good job tracking Ron Hannah's friend down, getting him to confess," he stated.

"Who does that? What kind of person actually…" Andy couldn't get over the fact Ron's friend lit the fire.

"Time and space McNally. You said it yourself, none of us are experts," Sam said, throwing stuff into his bag.

"Well, except you. Time and space and you're a bona fide savant," she said, looking up as he closed the door to his locker.

"I'm there when it matters." He turned to walk out of the locker room, pausing next to Andy, expecting her to get up and follow him.

"Sam?" Andy had felt this tugging of her heart since Sam rescued her. She was ready. Her heart was full, her mind was happy. He had stolen part of her heart long ago. She couldn't risk something happening to either one of them before she told him she loved him. She had to tell him now.

He looked over and was surprised to see her still sitting in the same position. "Yeah?"

She glanced up at him before fixing her eyes on the metal bench beneath her feet. She was scared. But she wanted this, so she pushed herself to speak the words she repeated in her mind over and over.

She looked back up, her eyes meeting his. "I love you."

Sam moved the hand that hung at his side over Andy's fidgeting hands. "I love you too." Gently pulling her hands, he brought her to a standing position so they were squeezed close between the lockers and the bench. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I love you," he repeated slowly. Andy smiled while her hands slid up Sam's back.

* * *

><p>Sam woke up the next morning as sunlight peeked through his curtains. He rolled onto his side and stared at the beautiful creature lying next to him. Andy's eyes were still closed and her mouth was slightly open as she slept. He watched and listened to her breath for several minutes before glancing at the clock and realizing they still had a few hours before they had to head to work. He leaned over to place soft kisses on her eyelids, then her nose and as her eyes fluttered open, her lips.<p>

"Morning," she said groggily.

"Good morning," he said smiling.

"What time is it?" she asked, closing her eyes again.

"A few hours before we have to be at the station," he replied.

He leaned in for another kiss and deepened it as his fingers grazed up and down her side. Andy reached her hand out, placing it behind Sam's neck to pull him closer.

* * *

><p>By the time Sam and Andy finally got out of bed, they were running late and there was no time to stop at Traci's for clothes on the way to the station. She was glad she had been keeping extra clothes in her work bag in case she stayed over at Sam's because she really didn't want to walk into the station in the same outfit she wore the day before. As it was, she had barely enough time to shower and was throwing her hair into a ponytail as they rushed out the door.<p>

"It's your fault if I'm grumpy today," she huffed as Sam pulled away from the curb.

"Oh really?"

"Yes, because you deprived me of my morning coffee," she replied, pulling the visor down to check her makeup.

Sam snorted. "I deprived you? Pretty sure it's the other way around."

"You didn't set your alarm," she said, feigning anger and crossing her arms across her chest.

"Moot point, we were _awake_ in plenty of time," he said, glancing over to see Andy blush. When Andy didn't come back with anything, he decided to play nice. "I'll get you your coffee when we get to the station."

"That's not morning coffee, that's morning sludge," she laughed.

They pulled into the station's parking lot and quickly made their way to the locker rooms to change into their uniforms. Somehow they both made it to parade in time.

As Andy took a seat next to Traci, Sam walked over placing a cup in front of her. "McNally, your morning sludge," he said, flashing his dimples.

Andy's lips curved into a smile, but she didn't have a chance to thank him as Sam was pulled away by Frank. The sharp elbow poking her side pulled her eyes away from Sam and she turned toward Traci. "What was that about?" Traci asked.

"Oh, um, nothing. Just didn't get coffee before we left this morning," she replied.

Traci looked at her like she wasn't telling the whole story. "What? We just didn't have time to make it before we left Sam's and I warned him I'd be grumpy today because of it," Andy explained.

"Spending the night at Swarek's. Rock 'n roll McNally," Dov blurted, having eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Dov!" Andy squealed as she blushed.

"Yeah Dov. We all know you have a man crush on Swarek, but he's taken," Traci teased.

Dov ignored Traci and took a seat next to Chris, and as parade started Andy wondered why Sam was standing at the front of the room. She soon found out he was coordinating a sting they would all be participating in to arrest suspects who had outstanding warrants. Andy, Traci and Gail were delegated with making phone calls notifying the men and women who had "won" a car as part of Sunray Motors' grand opening. Meanwhile, Sam, Chris and Dov were getting the showroom ready, and Oliver and Noelle were getting the surveillance equipment set up.

Shortly after the girls joined everyone at the dealership, suspects started coming in for the "free" car they expected to receive. Sam, Dov, Andy, Traci, Gail and Chris took turns in teams to bring the suspects into the backroom where they were arrested.

Traci noticed Andy and Sam giving each other looks all morning and shook her head. "Keep it in your pants, McNally," she teased.

"What?" Andy said, a shocked look on her face.

"You know what. I'm sure you had plenty of sexy time last night since I didn't see you on my couch," Traci said.

Andy blushed, but her friend was right. "I'm bored," she whined. "And can I help it if my boyfriend is so sexy I want to drag him into a back room and – "

"Do not finish that sentence. I don't need those images in my head," Traci laughed. When the two friends stopped giggling, Traci got serious. "So things are good with you two?"

"Yeah, I don't know why I waited so long for this. He makes me happy," Andy said, grinning.

The chime of the showroom door echoed as a man and woman entered. Sam nodded at Andy for her and Traci to take the woman, while he grabbed Dov to handle the man. After chatting for a few minutes, Andy thought the woman, Leigh Senett, seemed nice and couldn't believe she had outstanding warrants. That's when she heard Oliver's voice in her ear saying "Bohemian Rhapsody," the code to arrest the suspect. Before getting her into the backroom, Leigh insisted on seeing the car's engine, so Andy and Traci awkwardly opened the hood and stared down at the inner workings of the car. Andy was trying to make something up about the engine to sound intelligent when she saw a man running around the cars.

As they all tried to catch the guy, Andy and Traci lost sight of Leigh and when Sam finally had the guy on the ground, they looked at each other before their eyes darted around the showroom. Andy muttered curses under her breath as she raced outside and then back in the showroom. They had lost the woman.

They traced Leigh to a house nearby, but found out she no longer lived there. Having looked everywhere they could think of, Andy and Traci thought Leigh had disappeared into thin air and returned to the dealership frustrated. "Best is going to kill us," Traci said.

"Yeah, probably. But based on the look on Sam's face when we left, he might kill us first," Andy replied. She hated failure, especially when she was working with Sam. Even though he wasn't her TO anymore, she always wanted to make him proud of her.

Relief flushed through their bodies as they saw Leigh trying to escape in her car. They brought her back to the station and hoped they could help her avoid jail time since she was living in her car and the warrants were only for money owed to collection agencies and parking tickets. Before they could convince her to call her daughter, Andy received a panicked call from Chris.

"It's Dov. He's on a booby trap, it could explode. They won't let me near him," he said, speaking so fast Andy could barely understand what was happening.

"Chris, calm down. What happened?" she asked.

"We were investigating a grow house, but there wasn't one. It was a meth lab," he said, speaking more calmly now. "There was a gun booby trapped and we got out of the way, but when Dov got up he stepped on another booby trap that's going to set a bomb off if he moves."

"Give us the address. We're on our way," Andy said. Their friend was in danger so Andy and Traci didn't hesitate to jump in a car and head to the scene. Even if there was nothing they could do, they had to be there.

And there wasn't anything they could do. They were kept behind barricades across the street for safety reasons and could only stand and wait while the bomb squad rescued Dov. Chris had his arms around Andy, Gail and Traci as they tried to comfort each other while they waited. Andy looked over to see Sam, Oliver, Noelle and Frank standing nearby. There was nothing they could do either.

"What's happening? Why won't anyone tell us what's happening?" Andy asked.

"He'll be okay. I know it. He's going to be okay," Chris reassured his friends, feeling more confident now that they were all together.

The minutes seemed like hours as they stood there waiting. Finally, they heard someone say "All units move in" and a bunch of guys in ETF suits headed toward the house, but still no one would tell them anything. "What does that mean? If the bomb went off we would've heard it right?" Gail asked. Chris looked down at Gail, but he had no answers so he remained silent, as did Andy and Traci.

Finally they saw Dov walk out of the house and Andy, Chris, Gail and Traci ran over to hug him. Frank, Sam, Oliver and Noelle all let out deep breaths as they watched the reunion. None would openly admit they had been just as scared as their rookies.

"Looks like I'm back as the rookie screw up," Dov said, frowning at his friends.

"Shut up, Dov. It could've happened to any of us," Andy said, hugging him.

"Andy's right. We're just glad you're okay," Chris said, slapping his friend on the back.

Chris glanced at the woman standing a few feet away from them and Dov followed his gaze. He smiled at her and waved her over. "Guys, this is Sue. I promised her a cup of coffee for saving my life, so how about we all go out after shift," Dov said.

They all smiled at Sue, but it was Andy who spoke first. "She just saved your life, Dov, she deserves a heck of a lot more than coffee," she teased. Laughing, they walked to their cruisers while Sue rejoined her ETF team with a promise to meet up with Dov later.


	6. Chapter 6

I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter – not sure why – so I apologize if it's not as exciting as previous chapters. This chapter takes place during episode 2x06. Reviews make my day, so please let me know what you think. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

Sam knew it was going to be a tough day when Jerry approached him and Traci – his partner for the day – about missing informant Marco Forlan. They had a day to find the guy before he was supposed to testify at a major gang trial and just as they were about to go search for him, Jerry got bad news.

"Great, just great," he said, reading a text. "We found him…dead. Three gunshot wounds to the head."

Sam cursed under his breath. "We're thinking the Jameson's got to him?"

"Sounds right. Ollie and McNally are on scene. I'll tell them to call you with anything they find. I want you to track down any leads they get," Jerry replied.

It wasn't long before Andy was calling Sam with information about a guy seen fleeing the scene. Sam and Traci headed to the apartment of two girls – Deena and Kylie - whose rent was paid by Darrell Jameson, pimp, gun runner and family enforcer for the Jameson gang. After finding what Sam figured was the gun that killed Marco, he called Oliver and Andy so they could take the girls to the station while he checked with a source who might give them a lead into where they might find Darrell.

After putting Deena and Kylie into holding cells, Oliver stood with Andy, Jerry and Jo in booking. "We'll hold the girls for 24 hours. Gun's at ballistics," Oliver said.

"Is there a warrant I'm not aware of?" Jerry asked suspiciously, not wanting a case to get thrown out of court for some logistical error.

Andy felt the need to stand up for Sam, even if they hadn't been partnered that day. "Well, Sam said the gun was in plain view."

"Plain view plain view or plain view for Sam?" Jerry asked, which caused a small chuckle to escape Oliver's mouth and Andy to fight back a smile.

"Yes," Oliver said.

Jerry looked between the two officers and knew they'd back Sam up, even if the girls tried to say otherwise. "Okay, get them in separate interrogation rooms. I'll see if I can get Kylie to talk. Jo, take Deena, but let McNally have a crack at her first. My gut tells me the girl might find it easier to open up to her," he said.

Andy couldn't help but notice the irritation on Jo's face and let her lead the way to get Deena.

She'd only been sitting with Deena for five minutes when Jo came bursting into the room. She hadn't made any progress yet, but the detective hadn't even given her a chance.

"Why don't you check with ballistics, McNally, see if they have any news for us," she said, with a pointed look telling her to leave the room.

Sam had returned to the station after talking to Darrell's cousin and stood in the observation room as Jo barged into the interview. He could see the anger radiating off of Andy as she swung the observation room door open. "She knows Jerry's handling that," she said, crossing her arms in a defensive stance.

"Don't worry about it. She's a bitch," Sam said, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her toward him. "She's just jealous of you," he whispered in her ear.

Andy quirked her eyebrows, giving Sam a questioning look.

"She sees the looks Callaghan still gives you. She hates you cause he's still infatuated over you," he said.

"Whatever. She has no right to throw me out of my own interrogation," Andy huffed.

"Technically, she does since she's –" Sam stopped speaking when he saw Andy glaring at him. He held his hands up in surrender and kissed her cheek.

"C'mon, let's grab a coffee and you can help me finish the paperwork for these girls," Sam said, turning her towards the door.

"Isn't Traci your partner today? Push your paperwork off on her," Andy deadpanned as they walked out of the room.

As she sat on the edge of Sam's desk sipping her coffee, he stared up at her with a look of disbelief on his face. "You're really going to just sit there and watch me work?"

"Yup," she said, popping the 'P' for affect.

"And there's nothing I can do to convince you to do it for me?" he asked, sliding a hand up her thigh.

She swatted his hand away and smiled. "I hate paperwork as much as you do, so no."

"See, I thought you loved paperwork. I seem to recall you doing most of mine when I was your TO," he replied, smirking.

Andy blushed. What was it Dov had called her? Sam's hot secretary with a gun. Yeah, well, maybe it was because she always had a thing for him, so offering to do his paperwork was the adult version of doing your high school crush's homework. But now that he was hers, well, he could do his own paperwork. Except he was giving her the look that made her melt. Andy smiled at Sam, and rolling her eyes gave in to the smoldering eyes staring back at her. "Fine. Give me Deena's info and I'll input it into the system."

She was taking a seat across from Sam and his self-satisfied smile when Jerry walked over. Behind him, she saw Jo and Deena heading into the detectives' office. "We need you two now. Deena's made a deal," he said, and nodded his head toward the office. When Sam and Andy walked in, Frank, Jo and Deena were already mid-conversation.

"We need to put Deena in protective custody tonight, but we'll fly her out to her mother tomorrow," Jo said.

"My sister," Deena corrected.

Ignoring her, Jo continued. "I can handle this, but we'll need a second person. I can ask Luke to join me."

"It's probably best for it to be two women guarding her," Frank interjected.

"Can she come?" Deena asked, pointing at Andy.

"Is that what you want?" Frank asked. When Deena nodded, he looked toward Andy. "You okay with that?"

"Sure, yeah. It'll be a girl's night," she said, trying to force a smile. As the details of the night were discussed, Sam knew Andy was far from okay with being stuck with Jo.

* * *

><p>Andy was in the locker room changing into her civilian clothes when Sam walked in and straddled the bench next to her locker. "You okay with this?" he asked.<p>

"Yeah, of course. It's my job, protect the innocent," she said, hooking her gun to her jeans.

"Not what I meant," he replied, giving her a pointed look.

Andy rolled her eyes. "I'm fine Sam. I have nothing against Jo. If she has an issue with me, that's her problem and she'll have to get over it." She sat down next to Sam and slid her shoes on. He rubbed his hand up and down her back.

"Just be careful okay. This Darrell is dangerous and Deena might try to contact him even though we've made this deal with her," Sam warned.

Andy turned her face and leaned into Sam to place a quick kiss on his lips. "I'll be fine. Don't worry so much," she said.

It was Sam's turn to roll his eyes. "Oh, because you stay away from danger so well," he teased.

* * *

><p>When they got to the motel, Andy thought it was a nice, although simple, room with two beds and a couch, but Deena apparently had more expensive tastes. She couldn't complain enough about the room, the bed, being trapped there. Jo wasn't helping the situation, telling Deena everything she couldn't do while they were stuck there and ignoring Andy as much as she could.<p>

Andy sat down on the bed, not knowing what to do to make Deena more comfortable about being in protective custody. She pulled out her phone and texted Sam. _Help! Jo's being a bitch and Deena won't stop pacing._

A minute later her phone beeped with his response. _Calm her down. TV? Magazines?_ His first reply was quickly followed with a second. _And don't kill Jo :)_

Andy rolled her eyes before replying. _HaHa. Deena doesn't want movie or mags._

She snorted after reading Sam's response. _You don't listen to me, why listen to her. xoxo_

_Mr Funny man tonight. Wish you were here. xoxo _Andy put her phone away, deciding she had to do something to ease the tension in the room. She finally convinced Deena to take a bubble bath, while she ran out to pick up some magazines and movies to keep them occupied.

Up until now Jo had said nearly nothing directly to Andy, but she stopped her before she could leave. "Hang on, the department will pay for that stuff," she said, digging through her purse.

"You know, this doesn't have to be painful," Andy said, sick of Jo's attitude. "We can try and make this fun for Deena, so she doesn't feel like she's in a prison."

Jo tossed some cash on the coffee table. "This isn't a party McNally. Our job isn't to entertain her. It's to keep her safe until we get her on a plane to her mother."

"Her sister. You mean her sister, because she doesn't want to see her mother," Andy replied.

"We couldn't reach the sister and we need to get her out of town," Jo said. "Look, just get your magazines and movies, and when you get back we'll order pizza."

Andy didn't want to lie to Deena and hated how Jo was treating her, but the detective was her superior, so there wasn't much she could do at this point. As she walked out of the motel room, she didn't realize Deena had heard the entire conversation through the thin bathroom door.

Andy had only been gone about half an hour, but that had been plenty of time for Deena to knock Jo out with a towel bar and escape custody. They drove around the city trying to find Deena with no luck. That is until Traci had a great idea about where Deena could be meeting up with Darrell.

By the time they had Deena and Darrell in interrogation rooms back the station Andy was exhausted. She was also frustrated she couldn't convince Deena not to take the fall for her boyfriend. Everyone knew she was lying about killing the informant, but with her confession they had no choice but to charge her with murder instead of Darrell. Andy kept fighting to convince Deena to give up her boyfriend, only stopping when the girl eventually asked for a lawyer.

* * *

><p>After leaving the station late that night, Sam and Andy picked up Chinese for a late dinner and headed to his apartment. When he saw her staring intently into the take-out container, he decided she was either thoroughly absorbed in the ingredients or over thinking something. His bet was on the latter.<p>

"What's on your mind?" he asked, tapping her leg after a moment when she didn't respond.

"Hmmm? Um, today," she said, putting a forkful of food in her mouth.

"Could you be a little less specific?" he teased.

Andy looked at him with mild amusement in her eyes. "I get it on some level. Deena lying to protect her boyfriend." When Sam looked at her with raised eyebrows, she knew she had to explain. "Not her specific situation, but I understand wanting to lie to save or protect the person you love."

"So, if I killed someone, you'd lie to the police, to our friends?" Sam asked.

She thought about it as she took another bite of food, wondering if she sounded crazy talking like this. "Yes," she stated.

"Really?"

"Without a doubt. I wouldn't take credit for it like Deena did, and I know I'm like the worst liar in the world, but I'd give you an alibi or something. Does that make me a bad person?"

"No," Sam replied, his lips curving into a smile. "I'd do the same for you."

Andy grinned and leaned over to place a sloppy kiss on his lips. "We're a perfect pair then," she said.

* * *

><p>Andy woke up the next morning to the phone ringing, followed quickly by Sam's voice grumbling "Hello."<p>

"Sarah?" Sam ran a hand over his face, hoping it would wake him up. Andy rolled over, burying her face in the pillow. It was their day off and she decided it was way too early to be waking up, especially when she wasn't at Traci's and didn't have Leo jumping on her bed at dawn. She tuned out most of Sam's conversation with his sister and fell back to sleep.

Sam hung up and sighed, knowing his sister was always an early riser and never hesitated to call first thing in the morning. After being nagged that he hadn't been to visit his sister in weeks and promising to visit soon, Sam was wide awake. He looked over at Andy and knew she wouldn't be up for a while, so he threw on sweatpants and a t-shirt, and decided to go for a run. He scribbled out a note, dropping it on his pillow before placing a light kiss on Andy's temple.

When Andy finally woke up she slid her hand over the part of the bed where Sam should be, opening her eyes when her hand could only find a cold sheet. She remembered him talking to Sarah and quickly wondered if everything was okay before she saw the note lying on his pillow. _Didn't want to wake you. Went for a run. Be back soon. Love you. _Andy smiled and rolled onto her back, hugging the comforter around her.

She stared up at the ceiling and figured Sam would be back soon. She thought about how she didn't often get a chance to cook for him and that breakfast was the best of her cooking abilities. With that thought on her mind, she got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen. Sam made coffee before leaving for his run, so she poured herself a cup and smiled as the hot liquid slid down her throat. She searched through his cabinets and refrigerator until she found what she needed, and got to work. She put bacon on the stove first and then started on pancakes. In between checking on the pancakes and bacon, she set the table and poured two glasses of orange juice. She was just piling the pancakes on a dish and taking the bacon off the stove when Andy heard the front door open.

"Something smells delicious," Sam said, walking into the kitchen. He had run hard, enjoying the fresh air and exercise, so sweat glistened on his skin and his black shirt stuck to him. Andy turned around and wanted to forget about the breakfast she just cooked.

"You look delicious," she said, putting the plates on the table and walking over to him. She put her palms on his chest and leaned up to kiss him. "You're sexy when you're sweaty."

Sam circled an arm around her waist pulling her close while his fingers played in her hair. "You're sexy with bed head," he said smiling. "You cooked?"

"It's just breakfast. I thought you'd be hungry," she said sheepishly.

"I'm starved. Thank you," he said, kissing her lips hard before she broke away and they sat down at the table.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to everyone reading this story. I'm glad people are enjoying it so much. This chapter takes place during episode 2x07. Leave a review and let me know what you think. Thanks! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

When Andy arrived at parade, she knew they'd be briefed on the latest with the case that started the night before when she and Sam responded to two break-ins at Sophie Lewis' apartment, the last of which left the woman hospitalized. Andy mentally compared it to the Zoe Martinelli case as she sat waiting for parade to begin. They were very similar, and Luke was convincing when he said the two cases were connected and Ray Nixon had committed both crimes.

When Sam and Andy got into their cruiser to head to Nixon's apartment to execute a search warrant, she noticed every little thing was annoying Sam. "This lack of coffee is really making you cranky," she said after several minutes.

"I'm not losing this stupid bet to Ollie. And I am _not_ cranky," he replied, quickly glancing over at her before bringing his eyes back to the road.

"You just swore at an old lady who you thought wasn't walking fast enough through a crosswalk," she said, fighting back a laugh.

"Yeah, well you go more than three days without caffeine," Sam huffed. "I'm sure you'd be peachy to be around."

Andy rolled her eyes and laughed despite the glare she received from Sam. She had to find a way to tempt Oliver into drinking a cup of coffee so Sam could win the bet and life could get back to normal.

When they arrived at the military base, Andy and Sam helped with the search of Nixon's apartment and office before ending up at his car. As she began searching the vehicle, Andy asked Sam what he thought about the two cases since he was more familiar than her with what happened to Zoe Martinelli. "I think we need to find evidence, otherwise all of Callaghan's suspicions mean nothing," he said, watching her dig through the front seat. He didn't have a gut feeling about Nixon like he did on other cases and he had to admit he wasn't 100 percent convinced the Martinelli and Lewis cases were connected.

"So, you think he's innocent?" Andy asked.

Sam looked over at Nixon and found him eyeing Andy up and down, so Sam shifted his body to block his view. "I didn't say that. But if we can't find evidence, we're gonna have to move on to other possible suspects, like Sophie Lewis' neighbor," he replied.

Andy moved to search the backseat while she continued to think about the two cases. Her gut told her Nixon was guilty, but she understood where Sam was coming from.

An hour later, Andy, Sam and the other officers at Nixon's apartment left empty handed. When she arrived back at the station with Sam, she saw Luke in Frank's office and found out he'd been kicked off the case, leaving Jo in charge.

She knew Jo didn't think the two cases were related and for some reason already felt defensive when she sat down on the table in the parade room. When Jo wanted to start from scratch and disregard all the similarities between the two cases, Andy became annoyed. Later she'd realize it probably wasn't in her best interest to talk back to the detective, even if she felt she was right.

When Andy stood her ground, Jo thought about all the yearning looks Luke kept giving the girl who dumped him and decided she didn't feel like dealing with Luke's ex anymore. "You can't get Zoe Martinelli off your brain, maybe you need a little break. Here, go get us some pizza," she said, pulling cash out of her pocket. "It's going to be a long day."

"Anything I can do to help," Andy spit out. She snatched the money from her hand and stormed out of the room.

Sam's eyes flew wide open at the exchange between his girlfriend and the detective. Unsure if he should run after Andy or defend her, he simply stood and crossed his arms, all the while glaring at Jo.

* * *

><p>Hours later, after they had confirmed Nixon's alibi, Sam was frustrated they couldn't find a lead with the case. Not to mention they were running all over the city in cold and rainy weather without a good cup of coffee. <em>It's turning into such a fantastic day,<em> he thought sarcastically. Thinking food might help his mood, he stopped their cruiser near a hotdog stand. "Want anything?"

"No, I'm good. Everything okay, Sam?" Andy asked, following him as he got out of the car.

"Just dandy. I'm hungry," he replied shortly.

While Sam waited for his hotdog and piled topping after topping on it, Andy shared the idea she had about storage lockers. Told him how Luke said Nixon is a collector and probably has everything he took from the victims neatly catalogued away somewhere. "He'd bet his career on it and that says a lot," she said. "I mean, when we were together, his career was even more important than I was to him."

Not getting the response she wanted from Sam, Andy tried again, making sure he remembered the alibi telling them that most people in the military have a storage locker. She ignored Sam's bad mood and kept pushing the matter, which she soon regretted.

"Why are you doing this? We're wasting our time trying to pin this on someone who didn't do it, for what? For who? For Callaghan, the guy you _supposedly_ don't love anymore?" Sam spit out as they walked back to the cruiser. The words came out of his mouth before he could think about what he was saying. It was stupid really. They were all working toward the same goal, but Sam couldn't help but feel Andy was taking Luke's side. That she regretted leaving the detective. That soon she would walk of his life. He was just sick of hearing 'Luke said this' and 'Luke believes that.' And it all boiled to the surface at that moment.

"Supposedly? What – where did that come from?" Andy asked, narrowing her eyes. "Sam, this isn't about Luke. I don't love him. You know I love you. This is about a gut feeling I have about the case, about Ray Nixon."

"Whatever. Look, take the car. Do whatever you want to do. I'll walk back to the station. I could use a little space," he said, tossing the keys to Andy before stomping away. His own insecurities clouding his judgment as he left his partner alone. No longer hungry, he tossed his hotdog into the nearest trash can and never looked back. If he had, he would have seen Andy's confused face and her eyes blinking away tears.

_What the hell just happened_? she wondered. Sam always had her back, told her to trust her gut, so why wasn't he there for her now. She slowly got into the cruiser thinking that she could either dwell on Sam leaving her or focus on solving the case. Quickly choosing the latter, she called a local storage company and found the dead Zoe Martinelli had a locker.

* * *

><p>When Andy found evidence against Nixon in the storage locker, she thought about who to call for help. She always called Sam, but after the incident earlier, she hesitated. Maybe she should call Traci, Chris or Dov, maybe even Luke or Jo. She opened her phone and her fingers instinctively hit Sam's speed dial. He was always there when it mattered and she hoped it was true this time.<p>

"Yeah," he answered gruffly, which made Andy sigh. He was in no better of a mood now.

"Sam, listen, I found a storage locker under the name Zoe Martinelli and – "

"What?" he interrupted.

"I'm at Vessel Storage and there's a locker here with all the trophies Nixon has saved," she said.

"You're there now?" Sam asked, dumbfounded. He knew he told her to take the car, but had expected her to drive around for a bit before coming back to the station, not to go search for Nixon on her own.

"Yes, get Jo or someone to get a search warrant. Locker C1084. Everything is here. _Everything_," Andy said.

"Okay, I'm on my way. Be careful!" Before Sam even hung up, he was grabbing the closest officer in sight. "Diaz, do you have keys to 1509?"

"Yeah, right here, Sir," he replied.

Sam grabbed the keys out of his hand. "Great. Get everyone to Vessel Storage right now! And get Jo to get a warrant. McNally's there with evidence on Ray Nixon." Sam flew out of the station, hoping Chris would do as he was told.

* * *

><p>Andy sifted through more of the containers after hanging up with Sam. She couldn't believe how much was here. As she was thinking about how Nixon would be put away for life, she heard a noise behind her. She didn't have time to turn around or grab for her gun before she felt a foot kicking her hard on the back. She lost her balance briefly, but was able to turn around to see Nixon right in front of her. She fought with him for a minute until he grabbed her head and threw her toward a metal pole. Just as she heard the loud crack of her head against the pole, the world went dark.<p>

When she woke up she didn't know how much time had passed and the pounding in her head made it hard to think. She opened her eyes to see Nixon's back facing her. He was mumbling something she couldn't understand. She tried moving her hands and feet, but realized he wrapped duct tape tightly around her wrists and ankles. He must have heard her struggling to move because he turned around to look at her. Realizing she was awake, he crouched down in front of her, placing his hands around her neck. She tried screaming, but the duct tape over her mouth prevented much sound from escaping her lips. When she refused to close her eyes as Nixon ordered, he tore off more duct tape and placed it over her eyes.

Slivers of light found their way under the duct tape as Andy was faced with the thought this was how her life was going to end. She felt Nixon's hands circle her neck and start pressing, and a tear escaped her eye. _This is how I'm going to die_, she thought. It was getting harder and harder to breath when she heard the door of the storage locker being thrown open.

Sam was out of his car in seconds when he arrived at the storage facility. When he found locker C1084, he saw the door was closed and knew Andy wouldn't have closed herself in there. He feared the worst, taking out his gun as he gripped the door's handle and ripped it open.

"Police, freeze!" he yelled when he saw Nixon's hands around Andy's neck. "Step away from her, now!" Hearing Sam's voice, Andy felt her body relax.

When Nixon stood up and placed his hands on his head, Sam took out his handcuffs and grabbed the man's wrists, quickly cuffing him. As Nixon struggled and tried fighting him, Sam hit him over the head with the butt of his gun, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. When he was sure he was staying put, Sam raced over to Andy.

"It's me, Andy. It's me," he said as he carefully pulled the duct tape off her eyes and mouth. He framed her face with his hands and brought his lips to hers. "It's okay. You're okay." He brushed her tears away with his thumbs.

"Sam, my hands," she said quietly. Understanding, he pulled a knife out of his utility belt to cut the tape, and free her hands and feet. He helped her to her feet, catching her as she swayed from the dizziness caused by the hit to her head.

Andy quickly explained what happened, how Nixon had knocked her out. "He was going to kill me," Andy whispered, looking down at Nixon.

"You're okay now. I'm here. You're okay," Sam replied, hugging her close.

Sam was glad to see Oliver, Dov, Chris and Gail racing down the hall. Glancing down at Nixon, who was still unconscious, Oliver raised his eyebrows in question at Sam.

"What? He tripped and hit his head," Sam said.

"Uh huh," Oliver replied, giving him a knowing look as he and Dov tended to the handcuffed man.

Gripping Andy's waist, Sam helped her walk down the hallway and exit the storage facility. The ride back to the station was silent and Sam knew Andy was mad at him. He left her. He left his partner and didn't have her back. He was an idiot. He let his insecurities and frustration get the best of him. Deep down he knew she loved him and not Luke. He didn't know why he said what he said. He wanted her to yell and scream at him, to smack him, to do something. He couldn't handle her silence. When he parked the cruiser at the station, she got out silently and made her way to the locker room. He didn't know what to say, what could make things better. He grabbed a bottle of water, along with some aspirin and headed to the women's locker room. Andy had already changed out of her uniform and was throwing on her hoodie when he entered. Sam held out the water and aspirin, knowing she must have a monster headache.

"Thanks," she said, taking both from him and swallowing two pills.

"I'm sorry I left you," he said, figuring an apology was the best way to start the conversation.

Andy glanced over at Sam as she zipped up her hoodie and closed her locker. "It's okay." The tone in her voice told Sam it was everything but okay.

"Andy," he sighed.

Her head was pounding and she just couldn't deal with this conversation right now. Couldn't deal with more accusations from Sam about her being in love with Luke. His actions really hurt her and she wasn't sure how to get past it at that moment. "I can't do this right now," she said and pushed pass him to walk out of the locker room.

She decided to walk to Traci's rather than waiting around for her friend to get back from patrol, but halfway there she remembered her spare uniform was at Sam's apartment. He had picked it up with his dry cleaning a couple days earlier. Andy sighed. She knew she needed to get it because the uniform she wore today had drops of blood on it from her head wound and she needed the clean one for work tomorrow.

Knowing Sam hadn't yet changed out of his uniform when she left the station, Andy thought that if she was lucky she could make it to Sam's, pick up her uniform and leave before he got home. She let herself in with the spare key he had given her and was in the bedroom when she heard the door open. _Crap, I'm the unluckiest person alive,_ she thought.

Sam was briefly relieved when he found his door unlocked, knowing Andy had come here instead of going to Traci's. But that was quickly replaced by sadness as he saw the look on her face as she walked out of his bedroom with her uniform.

"I, uh, just needed to get this for tomorrow," she said, walking toward the door. He knew he couldn't let her leave and stepped in front of her, blocking her exit.

"Sam, don't." She shook her head as she put a hand on his chest.

"Andy, I need to talk to you. I'm sorry. Please just listen to me," he said, grabbing the hand on his chest with his own. When she looked over his shoulder at the door and refused to budge from the spot she stood in, Sam resorted to begging. "Please. Just give me five minutes. I need to explain."

Andy closed her eyes, trying to ignore the pounding in her head, and sighed. "Fine."

Sam led her to the couch, taking her uniform from her and placing it over the back of a chair. When they were both sitting on the couch, he took a deep breath before speaking. "I'm sorry. I know I can't apologize enough for leaving you. I just – you were siding with Callaghan and it, uh, I was jealous. You were taking his side, even though no one else in the department believed him."

Andy's eyes opened wide. She couldn't believe he was jealous of Luke. "I –"

"No, let me finish," he interrupted. "It's stupid, I was stupid. And you were right. You alone found the evidence to put Nixon away for a long time. You trusted your gut and I should have listened to you. I'm sorry."

"You once told me you were always there when it mattered, but today you weren't," she said softly. Andy closed her eyes briefly, fighting back tears. "You abandoned me because you were jealous."

Sam reached out, placing Andy's hand in his and rubbing circles on it with his thumb. "I know. It's the stupidest thing I've ever done. I love you too much and the thought of losing you back to him made me crazy."

"I'm never going back to Luke. I love you. But there might be times I agree with Luke on a case. We all work together Sam. I need to know you won't abandon me again over something stupid," she said, worry written on her face.

Sam knew she'd been abandoned many times throughout her life. He didn't want to be another name added to that list. "I won't, I promise you. I love you too much to let you go. What can I do to convince you?" When she remained silent, Sam got up to pace behind the couch. He didn't know how to convince her he meant it and that it wasn't just words coming out of his mouth.

Andy had seen the truth in his eyes. He didn't have to say anything else. She knew he was sorry and believed it when he promised her. "Ask me to stay."

Sam stopped pacing and looked over at Andy, who was still sitting on the couch. He placed his hands on the back of the couch so they were on either side of her. Feeling him behind her, Andy leaned back so her head rested on the back of the couch and tilted her head so she was looking up at him. Sam bent his arms so his face was only inches from hers.

"Stay," he whispered.

Andy's lips curved into a smile. "Okay."

He closed the distance, rubbing his nose against hers before bringing their lips together in a kiss.

"So, that's all it took, huh?" Sam asked when they parted.

"I believe you, that you're sorry and won't do it again. And I love you, so I don't think I'm capable of staying mad at you for long," she said smiling.

Sam wasn't sure how he got so lucky to have Andy in his life, to have someone who loved him as much as he loved her. As he stared into her eyes at that moment, he knew they'd have their ups and downs, but they could get through anything. When she closed her eyes and grimaced, he remembered how she'd hit her head earlier. "How's your head?"

"It's still pounding. The aspirin didn't do a thing."

Sam tilted her head so he could get a better look at her injury. "You've got a pretty good sized bump here," he said before kissing the top of her head. He made his way around the couch and sat next to her.

"Did caffeine withdrawal play a part in your mood today? Cause if so I'm forcing you to drink a cup of coffee immediately," she teased.

"Doesn't matter, Oliver won," Sam replied, putting an arm around her shoulders. At the confused look on Andy's face, he explained. "Jo was looking for you. Told her you were out buying me coffee."

"You lost your bet covering for me?" His protectiveness never ceased to amaze her.

He shrugged. "Yeah, well, you two had already been through one sparing match. Didn't think we needed to witness another."

It was little things like this that made it easy for Andy to forgive Sam. These little things just showed how much he loved her. She took a deep breath and leaned her head back against Sam's arm that was around her.

"Can we just not talk for a bit? Our voices are like jackhammers in my head right now," she said, closing her eyes.

Sam grabbed a pillow from the side of the couch and placed it on his lap. "I'm shutting up," he said as he pulled her down until she laid on her side and her head rested on the pillow. He brushed the hair off her neck gently and saw the beginnings of a bruise forming. He hated that he was the reason Nixon ever had a chance to put his fingers around her neck. He shook his head, angry at himself, and began to gently massage her temple, hoping it would help her headache go away.


	8. Chapter 8

This chapter takes place during episode 2x08, but there are also references to 2x09 at the end. Thank you to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting and favoriting this story. Every time I see a new review in my inbox, I get all excited, so please review let me know what you think! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8 <strong>

Sam and Andy were on patrol when they were called to a grocery store after an employee reported a suspicious customer who looked like he had a blue dye pack explode in his face. He matched the description of a bank robber and when they got him back to the station Andy couldn't help but laugh at the comments about blue guy. She couldn't decide if Oliver's "Braveheart" comment was her favorite or blue guy calling himself "Grouchy Smurf."

Sam and Andy watched Jerry unsuccessfully try to get blue guy to give up his name and were forced to toss him back in a holding cell when everyone was called to the parade room by Frank. A lady from Public Health was there telling them the station was under quarantine and even though Frank told them not to worry, Andy couldn't help but wonder how serious it was. She caught up with Sam walking out of the room, wondering if there was something special she should be doing during a quarantine.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Sam beat her to it. "So, I thought before I settle in to take everybody's money, why don't we see if the threat of imminent death gets blue guy talking," he said, leading the way toward the holding cells.

"I thought that there was nothing to worry about," Andy said, suddenly nervous about whatever disease they may have been exposed to.

"Blue guy doesn't know that," Sam said. Even as he flashed his dimples, Andy wasn't convinced.

"Okay, wait, there really is nothing to worry about, right?" she asked.

Sam stopped walking, realizing using the words 'imminent death' in front of an over thinker like Andy was probably not the best idea.

"We got quarantined for SARS in '03. You know what happened? The snack machine went dry, Jerry started growing himself a goatee and I took everybody's money at poker," he said, grinning. "If Frank says don't worry, don't worry."

"Okay, but what if it is something?" Andy still wasn't convinced.

"Then worry." Sam pushed Andy gently forward with a hand on her lower back. "Let's go get blue guy as nervous as you're fighting not to be," he teased.

"Shut up," she said playfully.

* * *

><p>Chris was great. Andy couldn't believe he finally got blue guy talking, more than he had in all the hours she, Sam and Jerry had tried questioning him. And now that they had more information on him, they had to call someone on the outside to get an ID on blue guy. Chris suggested calling Dov, knowing he wasn't part of the quarantine since he was on a date with Sue.<p>

"Dov, I'm sorry to ruin your date, but – " Andy started, but was interrupted by her friend.

"Are you okay? I heard about the quarantine," Dov said.

"Yeah, Traci's stuck at the hospital and Gail is convinced she has small pox, but we're all fine. Look, I need help with a case since Sam and I can't leave," Andy said.

"Sure, we're on our way to the station to check everything out, but I can head wherever you need me to," Dov replied. "Let me just hand the phone over since I'm driving and can't make notes on what you need us to do." Assuming he borrowed Chris' car for his date, Andy didn't think to ask who he was with and assumed it was Sue. When Luke got on the phone, Andy wanted to kill Dov.

She briefed Luke on what they knew about the suspect and asked him to check with the branch manager to see if he could ID the photo of the suspect she was emailing Dov. She rattled off the branch manager's name and the hospital he was at, and waited for a response.

"Andy, we need to talk. I still love you."

"Did you get everything I just told you?" she asked, ignoring him.

"Please. I don't want to lose you," he begged.

"You already have. Look if you're not going to do this, then put Dov back on."

"No, I got it. We'll head over to the hospital now," Luke said.

"Good. Have Dov call me when you get the info," she replied and quickly hung up.

Sam knew something was up and folded his hand in the poker game. He walked over to where Andy was fighting with the headphone cords and cursing under her breath. "Everything okay?" he asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him, her eyes dark with frustration and anger. "Luke's with Dov. He's so infuriating. I just want to punch him sometimes," she said. They'd been broken up for a while, but at least once a week Luke would find a way to plead his case to Andy about why they should be together. She was sick of it, but didn't know what to do because she wanted to remain civil since they worked together.

Sam chuckled, picturing his girlfriend taking down the detective with a couple punches. "As much as I'd enjoy watching that," he said smiling. "I don't think it would be a good career move. But you can take your frustration out on me."

Andy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Why would I take it out on you?"

"Because you can't keep your feelings bottled up. One day that bottle will burst and it'll likely be at the most inopportune moment. And, we have a fitness room with boxing gloves and a mat ready and waiting," he stated, leaning on the desk next to Andy.

"Sam, I'm fine. I'm not hitting you."

He leaned down to kiss the top of her head before getting up. "I'm not letting you leave here until you do," he said and walked away.

* * *

><p>Dov called a while later with an ID on blue guy. When Sam pulled him into interrogation, she brought Chris into the observation room to watch. "Thanks for the help Chris. I don't know if we would've figured out his real name without you," Andy praised.<p>

"Just did what I could. Guess it was a good thing I was stuck on desk duty all day, so he never saw me," he said.

They remained silent for a bit watching Sam before Chris looked over at Andy. "You and Swarek, I'm happy for you Andy. I mean, I know I was all supportive of Luke and everything, but, well, we all knew you and Swarek had feelings for each other. And now with Detective Rosati here, I think you saved yourself some heartache," he said.

Andy turned to Chris, confused at what Jo had to do with anything. "Why would she have caused me problems?" she asked.

"Oh, you didn't hear? Apparently Luke and Jo are sleeping together now," he said.

"Of course they are," she said, shaking her head. _Of course Luke was sleeping with Jo, even while he continues to try to get me back,_ she thought. "Whatever. I'm deliriously happy with Sam, so I couldn't care what or who Luke does now."

They fell into a comfortable silence again until Sam started rattling off the items blue guy came into the station with. Chris took a closer look at the guy's fingers before wondering where his wedding ring was. After discussing it for a moment, Andy and Chris pulled Sam out of the interrogation to let him in on what they noticed.

"He must have swallowed his wedding ring. I guess he didn't want us to know about his marriage," Andy said.

"No wonder he's protecting his partner," Sam said, smiling at Andy.

"Because his partner _is_ his partner," she said, finishing his thought.

* * *

><p>When the woman from Public Health gave the all clear, Andy started to head for the locker room until Sam placed one hand on her back and another on her arm to guide her to the fitness room.<p>

"I'm not boxing you, Sam," she said as they entered the room.

"I told you we're not leaving here until you do. You need to release the frustration," he said, tossing two gloves at her. She caught them and stared at Sam with annoyance as he put his own gloves on. "C'mon. It'll be fun," he said, lightly pushing her with one gloved hand.

Reluctantly, and only because she knew she wouldn't get out of the station without appeasing Sam, she put the gloves on. As she was doing so, Sam continued to playfully nudge her with his glove. "Stop it," she said as she tightened the gloves on her hands. He was purposely trying to annoy her, so her frustrations would surface. When she landed a punch to his gut, Sam knew his plan worked.

"You asked for this," she said as Sam caught his breath.

"That I did. Gimme what you got."

For the next half hour, they exchanged their share of light punches, while weaving and ducking. Finally, Andy collapsed on the mat and Sam sat down next to her, leaning on his elbows to prop himself up. He noticed her demeanor had changed, a content smile replacing the scowl she had on her face after talking to Luke. "Feel better?" Sam asked.

Andy tilted her head so she could look up at Sam. "Yes, thank you," she said smiling. She watched as Sam took his gloves off and then removed hers.

"You know what?" she asked, sitting up.

"I'm always right?" Sam joked as he stood up and held his hand out to help Andy. She shook her head as she grabbed his hand and he pulled her to a standing position.

"You are _not_ always right, and never mind, I'm not going to tell you now," she said, pouting and feigning annoyance.

Sam circled his arms around her waist so she couldn't get away. "Tell me," he said.

"No." She could be stubborn when she wanted and forced herself not to smile.

"McNally," he said, using his stern TO voice.

She couldn't fight her fake pout anymore and her lips slowly curved into a smile. She circled her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him. "I love you."

"Good, cause I love you too," he replied.

* * *

><p>Andy decided she had been sleeping on Traci's couch for long enough and even though half the time she was at Sam's, it was time to get serious about finding her own place. On their day off, Andy dragged Traci to half a dozen condos. They were having lunch when Andy laid out the brochures from all the places they visited on the table.<p>

"Do you have a favorite?" Traci asked, glancing between the brochures.

"These three are out. The natural light was horrible," she replied, tossing several of the brochures on the seat beside her. She took a bite of her sandwich as she contemplated the remaining options. "Hmmm."

"These two were nice," Traci said, pointing to a condo with floor to ceiling windows and another that was a renovated toilet factory. "The other one was in a shady part of town."

Andy nodded, agreeing with her friend. "True. And my dad, or Sam, would probably kill me for picking the one in the unsafe location," she said, adding the brochure to the growing pile on the seat. "Okay, so it's down to these two."

They ate in silence for a few minutes as Andy contemplated the two condos. She tried to picture herself in each condo – cooking dinner for Sam, snuggling with Sam on the couch, spending lazy days off with Sam. Every image she pictured included Sam and she realized she couldn't make a decision without getting his opinion.

She looked up at Traci. "I can't decide yet. I want Sam to see them, see what he thinks," she said.

"Have you guys talked about moving in together?"

"What? No, uh, yeah no," she said, shaking her head. "That's, um, a big step." She absentmindedly fidgeted with her napkin, slowly shredding it.

"Well, maybe when you take him to see these condos you should bring up the subject. Maybe look for a condo that's right for the both of you," Traci suggested.

Andy was saved from further conversation when Traci's phone rang and they had to pick up a sick Leo from school.

* * *

><p>A couple nights later Andy lay curled up with Sam in his bed, with her head on his chest. "So, you have mounted unit training tomorrow right?" he asked.<p>

"Yup, five straight days of it. Chris, Dov and I have to check in at parade tomorrow before heading over," she replied. "Did you ever work with the mounted unit?"

"Me?" Sam laughed. "No, I'm a city boy, remember? Horses and I don't get along."

Andy laughed. She couldn't really picture Sam on a horse. "I'm excited about it. It's something different. And there won't be the risk of imminent death," she said, thinking about the last month - trapped in the burnt out Laundromat, almost killed in the storage locker and being quarantined at the station.

"What am I going to do with my time without needing to rescue you," Sam teased.

Andy slapped his chest. "Very funny. You're gonna miss me."

Sam pushed her hair out of her face and off her shoulder, letting his fingers get tangled in its softness. "You know I'll miss you. But you'll just have to spend the evenings here so I can get my daily fix," he said.

"Is that so?"

"Yup." Andy was like a drug to Sam. He couldn't get enough and when he was away from her for too long he went through withdrawal. Andy turned her head so she could press a kiss to his chest. When she rested her head back in the crook of Sam's neck, she thought about the conversation she had with Traci the other day.

"Sam?"

"Hmmm."

"You know how I went to look at condos with Traci the other day?" she asked, drawing patterns on his chest with her fingers. Sam could feel Andy's body tense with nervousness as she spoke.

"Yeah. Did you find anything you liked?" he asked, as his fingers played with the ends of her hair.

"I narrowed it down to two. I just thought, uh, wondered if you wanted to take a look at them with me and help me decide," she said shyly. She didn't know why, but it felt like a big step in their relationship for him to help her choose a condo. She wanted his opinion, but the whole thing also made her nervous.

"Wanna schedule it for our next day off?" he asked, without giving a second thought to saying anything but yes. Andy's lips curved into a smile. Here, she had been agonizing over whether or not to ask him to come with her and he hadn't hesitated for a moment.

"Yeah, I'll call the realtor and set it up," she said.

Sam felt Andy's body relax and it still amazed him she could get nervous about asking him to share important parts of her life. He stopped playing with her hair so he could grab her hand off his chest and bring it to his lips.

* * *

><p>After the last day of mounted unit training, a few of the officers from 27 Division and training teacher Bernie Lucas met Andy and Chris at the Penny for drinks. After a couple rounds, Chris got up to call Gail to find out when she, Dov and Traci would be getting to the Penny. Bernie took the opportunity to move from his seat at the other end of the tables they'd pulled together to the empty one next to Andy.<p>

"Did you enjoy mounted unit training?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was a great escape from the normal day-to-day stuff," she said, sipping the last of her beer.

"Well, if you want a spot on our unit, I'll put in a good word for you," Bernie offered, leaning in toward Andy.

"Thanks, but I'm pretty happy at 15," she replied, sitting back in her chair to place a little distance between them. Recognizing he was flirting, she didn't want to be rude, but Andy quickly looked around wondering what was taking Chris so long.

"Let me get you another beer," Bernie said, noticing her glass was empty.

"No, that's okay. I think it's Chris' turn to buy, so I'll just wait for him," she replied.

Ignoring her, he grabbed her empty glass. "Hey, it's no problem. I'll just – " He stopped talking when he found his face inches from a muscular back that had wedged in between him and Andy.

Sam leaned down, surprising Andy with a kiss more passionate than they usually shared at the Penny in front of their co-workers. "Hi," he said, as he straightened up and protectively put his hand on her shoulder. Andy smiled, knowing exactly what Sam was doing.

"Bernie, this is my boyfriend Sam. Sam, this was my teacher at mounted unit training," she said, looking between the two men.

Bernie immediately pushed his chair back, creating more space between him and the couple. "Oh, uh, hi, nice to meet you. Excuse me, uh, I need to get another beer," he said, getting up and walking over to the bar.

"Nice Sam, intimidate the guy," she said, laughing.

"He'll get over it," he said, flashing his dimples. "Do you want another?" He nodded toward her empty glass, and when she nodded he headed to the bar.

Andy noticed Chris looking awkwardly at Gail and Dov as the three entered the bar, and Andy wondered what was up with them. She lost them in the crowd as Sam came back with their drinks and threw an arm over her shoulders as he sat down.

"I should warn you, Ollie's crashing on my couch tonight," Sam said, watching Bernie and a guy from 27 Division playing darts.

Andy quirked her eyebrows. "Not that I don't love Oliver, but why?"

"I may have given him some bad relationship advice and Zoe may be a little pissed at him," Sam hesitantly admitted.

Andy rolled her eyes. "Seriously Sam? You got him in trouble? You should be the one on the couch," she teased.

"Funny. What the heck is he doing asking me for advice anyway?"

"Never again, brother. Never again," Oliver said, overhearing their conversation as he slid into the seat next to Sam. "And you're helping me get back in Zoe's good graces."

"What? Why me?"

"Because you got him in trouble," Andy answered before Oliver had a chance. She leaned toward him to whisper in his ear. "And until you get him home again, _you_ won't be having any fun," she said, with a meaningful look.

Sam's face got serious. "What? So I'm punished too?"

"Nothing is happening with Oliver 10 feet from your bedroom door." Andy stood up, but leaned down so Sam could hear her. "So, get him home quick," she said, flashing a smile before walking away to find Chris, Dov and Gail.

"Looks like you're in the doghouse now too," Oliver said, chuckling into his drink.

Sam glared at Oliver and began forming a plan to get him off his couch as quickly as possible.


	9. Chapter 9

This chapter takes place during episode 2x10. Thanks again for all the reviews, favorites and alerts. Reviews are wonderful, so please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9 <strong>

Sam was late to parade and Andy wondered why since they had arrived at the station together. He was quiet as they walked to their cruiser, thinking about the conversation he had in the locker room. He hadn't expected Boyd to pop up and invite him to be part of a deep cover operation, especially one on a criminal who hadn't done anything illegal in years. Sam knew he and Andy would eventually have to have a conversation about if and when he went undercover again, but he never thought it would be this soon.

Andy watched him as he pulled out of the station parking lot and saw the creases in his forehead that meant he was deep in thought. She was trying to decide how to ask him what was up when the radio sprung to life, requesting them at the scene of a shooting at a kids' playland.

It didn't take them long to interview the victim, a guy who was dressed like big bird in his Party Town Amusements costume. They began searching for the car the suspect was believed to be in, but Sam felt like they were looking for a needle in a haystack. Things only got worse when they found out the shooting was also a kidnapping.

Sam had hoped for a quiet moment to talk to Andy about his conversation with Boyd, but knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. _Here goes nothing_, he thought as they drove around looking for the suspect's car.

"Saw an old pal of yours this morning," Sam said, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Who?" Andy asked, a bit excited.

"Donovan Boyd."

"What'd I do wrong this time?" Andy asked, rolling her eyes.

"He's setting up a UC operation, cover apartment, new identity, whole nine yards," Sam said. He quickly glanced at Andy and saw disappointment on her face.

"Cover apartment, huh?"

"This one is off the grid, only contact is with Boyd and the team," he said.

"Yeah, for how long?" she asked, fearful of the answer.

"Weeks, months, maybe longer." Sam took a long pause before continuing. "Told him I'd have to think about it." He used to see an opportunity like this and take it without question, but with Andy in his life it was different. He didn't have the urge to suddenly rush into another deep cover operation anymore. He still loved undercover work, but there was something, rather someone, he loved more.

"Really?" Andy was surprised. She knew he loved undercover work and assumed he'd said yes the minute Boyd asked him.

"I wanted to talk to you about it," he said, glancing over at her as she looked out the window. "You didn't think I'd just say yes without discussing it did you?"

Andy knew if she spoke, the tears she was holding back would start flowing. She always knew Sam would go back undercover, but she thought she'd have more time with him. She hated the thought of him leaving, but she would not prevent him from doing what he loved.

When she remained quiet, Sam spoke again. "Andy? Andy?"

When she finally looked over at him, he could see her eyes glistening. He knew what she was thinking, that he was going to leave her. He didn't want to, didn't want to spend a day away from her, which is why he came up with an idea.

"I want you to come with me," Sam said, taking Andy completely by surprise.

"What? How?" she asked, her mouth hanging open as she couldn't believe what he had said.

"Well, thought I could use backup. I mean, last time I was in deep cover, I got chased down and tackled by a girl," he joked.

Andy laughed, remembering her first day on the job. "But how? Boyd hates me. He's never gonna let me be part of his team," she said.

"Tough. We're a package deal. He wants me, he gets the both of us," Sam responded. "That is, if you want to."

Andy didn't get a chance to respond, as they came upon an accident and were shot at as they tried to investigate the scene. Sam left her with the accident victim, while he went to check out where the shots had come from, believing it was the guy they were after. As she sat in the car, keeping the woman alive while they waited for the paramedics, Andy had a lot of time to think. Could she leave her father, her friends, a normal life for weeks or months? Was she even cut out for deep cover work? Did she even want to get into deep cover work? She had no answers, so she kept focused on the job, making sure Leslie was alert and alive. But it didn't take her mind off of Sam's proposal. In the few minutes between pulling Leslie from the car, which had caught fire, and the first ambulance arriving, Andy found answers to the nagging questions. Facing death and seeing Leslie continue to put off her dreams gave Andy clarity. Now, she just had to tell Sam, who was still out looking for the missing boy.

She was saying goodbye to Leslie as the ambulance was about to take her to the hospital when she heard Sam calling for her. "Andy? Andy!"

Coming out from behind the vehicle, she saw him coming towards her. "Sam, I'm okay. I got her out, like, just before it went up."

"If I had known the car was going to catch on fire –" Sam was interrupted by Andy.

"It's okay. The medics say she's gonna be fine," she said. Sam wasn't as concerned about the accident victim as he was about Andy. If she had been trapped in the car when it went up, he never would have forgiven himself.

"You should've radioed," he said.

"You were miles out, and ya know, the car was on fire, I had that whole thing to deal with. But, did you get the boy?" she asked. _Always more concerned about others than herself,_ Sam thought.

"We found him, yeah," he said.

"Good."

They shared a brief kiss before Andy pulled away. She put her hands on his chest. "Wait, I need to say something," she said, taking a long pause before she continued. "Yes."

Sam looked at her in confusion.

"Yes, I'll come with you if you want to take this UC assignment. I'll do whatever I need to do to back you up," she said. Sam smiled and placed a hand on her back as they walked to their cruiser.

* * *

><p>The next day Sam and Andy sat with an annoyed Boyd in an office at the station. "No, we're not doing that," Boyd said, getting up to pace in front of the couple.<p>

Andy frowned even though this was the response she expected. Boyd hated her and there was no way he was going to let her go undercover with Sam. She knew he'd never agree to Sam's plan, but she'd been hopeful nonetheless.

"McNally backs me up or I don't go. That's the deal, Boyd," Sam stated.

Boyd stopped pacing to stare at Sam. He knew Sam was stubborn and it was either all or nothing right now. His choices were to lose one of his best undercover cops, maybe forever, or let him take his damn girlfriend with him. _Does it have to be McNally? Out of all the cops, it has to be her? _he wondered.

Boyd shook his head. "Fine." Staring directly at Andy, he continued. "But if you ruin this operation like all the others you touch, I swear –" He cut his sentence short when he saw Sam glaring at him. "I'll have your cover identities ready to review by the end of the day."

* * *

><p>When Sam and Andy returned from patrol at the end of shift Boyd called them into an office and handed over folders that contained information about their cover IDs. Andy stared at her name, before scowling at Boyd. "Candace, really?"<p>

He ignored her, choosing to go over their story. "Here's how it's gonna work. Sam, my CI will introduce you, as J.D., to Jamie Brennan. He'll help you get the job in the warehouse and then you start making friends with Brennan," Boyd began.

He explained that Brennan was a known gang enforcer and the primary suspect in at least six murder cases. While he had been out of the life for a while, Boyd told them that an informant let him know Brennan started going back to his old life after his wife and daughter died in a car accident about two months earlier. Sam and Andy needed to gather evidence on his current illegal activities and, if possible, get something that would help them convict Brennan on his past murders.

"Sam, we'll need you under for a few days, maybe a week, before McNally gets sent in. It's too risky to send you both in at once, too many new faces. We'll figure out the details for a meet later," Boyd continued. "Andy will go in as an insurance agent visiting from out of town. You meet up, shack up and _are only_ there to back Sam up."

Andy narrowed her eyes at his choice of words, but held back from saying anything.

"Once I get in and feel Brennan out, we'll know the best way to bring you into the situation," Sam explained. "We have to be careful so he's not suspicious, but I'll get the info to Boyd, who will update you before you're sent in."

"Okay. Simple enough." As the words left Andy's mouth, she knew it was the wrong thing to say in front of Boyd.

"No, it's not simple. This guy is a pro, which is why I picked Swarek, cause he has a fighting chance. Thing is McNally, I don't think you do. If you do anything to screw this up I'll have your badge," Boyd threatened.

"Boyd, out of line. She wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think she was ready, if I didn't think she could do it," Sam said, protecting her.

"Yeah, well, under the circumstances I think your judgment's clouded," Boyd said, and walked out of the office.

"Hey, you okay?" Sam asked when Boyd was out of earshot.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm just there _shacking up with you,_" she said, repeating Boyd's words with disgust."I'm sure I can manage that."

"Ignore him, Andy. You're there to back me up. There might be info you can get that I can't if Brennan just sees you as my girl. You can do this. Trust me, I wouldn't have asked you to come if I didn't think you could do this. It's a risky operation and I would never put you in harm's way if I had any doubts," he said, reassuring her.

"I know he hates me, but would it kill him to have a little faith in me?" Andy pouted.

"When we take Jamie Brennan down, he'll owe you, believe me. This is a big case," Sam replied.

As they got up to walk out, Sam turned to Andy and flashed his dimples. "So, Candace, huh? Can I call you Candy?"

Andy stared at him, not amused. "If you want live through this, you will never utter that nickname again."

Sam chuckled as they headed to the locker rooms to change out of their uniforms.

* * *

><p>The next night, Andy was at Sam's reviewing their cover stories after he had cooked them dinner.<p>

"So, I'm Candace, from Wisconsin. Have a few arrests on my record for possession and stealing when I was younger. I'm an insurance agent in town for a conference. Life isn't too happy, so when I meet you I don't want to go home," she said, repeating information from her file.

"Be ready to explain your troubled past and what your not so happy life is like. You might need details," Sam suggested.

Andy nodded. "Okay. Why do I feel like Boyd hasn't given me enough information here?"

"You need to fill in the blanks, but tell the truth whenever you can, or close to it. Remember, keep it real because it makes it easier to remember the story and there's less chance you'll contradict yourself at some point," he said.

Andy was nervous and wondering if she could really do this. Sam saw it in her eyes. "You need to be confident in what you say. You can't seem like you're questioning yourself," he said.

"Got it," she replied. She glanced down at the files and then up at Sam wondering something. "What was your first undercover job?"

Sam put down the file he was reading and turned toward Andy. "The first deep cover? I was Ernie the zamboni driver. We were trying to stop a gang focused on selling drugs to teenage hockey players," he replied.

"Ernie?" she said, laughing.

"Hey, don't make fun of Ernie, _Candace,_" he said, joining in her laughter.

"Was it a success?" she asked.

"Yeah, we saved a lot of kids."

Andy smiled. Sam was a natural at undercover work, so of course his first deep cover assignment was a success. She grabbed files about Jamie Brennan off the table and hoped she could be as successful on her first real assignment. The files included a lot of photos of the men and women tortured at Brennan's hands, which sent an uneasy feeling through her body. She continued flipping through the pages, finding information about his current legal activities, the illegal activities he had been connected to years ago, and the report on the accident that killed his wife and daughter.

She had just started reading the information in detail when there was a knock at the door. Sam put the file he was reading on the coffee table and got up to see who it was. He opened the door and saw Boyd standing there, looking impatient. "Tonight's the night," Boyd barked. Sam stood aside to let Boyd in. "Let's go, you're going under now," he said.

"Usually I get some advance warning. Thought I'd have more time to review the files," Sam said, closing the door.

"You knew you were doing this assignment. That was your advance warning," Boyd said, getting annoyed.

Sam glanced over at Andy, who was pretending to be absorbed in reading a file. "Give me a few minutes," Sam said.

"Fine. I'll be out in the car," Boyd replied and stormed out the door.

"Boyd has a stick up his ass tonight," Andy commented, not looking up from the file in her hand.

Sam walked over to the couch, took the file from her and placed it on the coffee table, before grabbing her hands and pulling her to a standing position. "We knew I'd be leaving first. It'll only be a few days, a week at most, before you meet up with me," Sam said, cupping her face with his hands.

"I know," she said softly. She brought her hand up to Sam's cheek and rubbed his jaw with her thumb. "I'm gonna miss you."

Sam looked deep into her brown eyes and nuzzled her nose. "I'm gonna miss you too." He brought his lips to hers as Andy ran her hands through Sam's hair. Their lips stayed fused together as their hands roamed each other like they were afraid they'd forget how the other felt and tasted, like it was the last time they'd see each other. Knowing he wouldn't be able to stop if this continued much longer, Sam pulled back, his hands gripping Andy's waist.

"Be safe. I love you," Andy said, her eyes roaming his face for one last look.

"I love you too," he said and grabbed his keys off the coffee table. "You can stay here while I'm gone if you want."

Andy shook her head. "No, I'll be fine at Traci's."

Sam took her open hand, placed his keys in it and wrapped her fingers closed around them. "If you change your mind, it's okay. I love you." He placed another quick kiss on her lips before backing away and walking to the bedroom. Andy stood in the same spot, watching as he returned with a suitcase he packed earlier and opened the door. He glanced over his shoulder with one last smile before closing the door behind him.

Andy collected their undercover files, stuffing them into her work bag. On impulse she went to the bedroom and grabbed one of his black t-shirts and his pajama bottoms, and put them in her bag. She shut off all the lights and carefully locked the door and placed the keys in her jeans before heading to Traci's.

Later, Andy sat on Traci's pullout couch long after her friend had gone to bed. She put the undercover files she had been thumbing through away and pulled Sam's clothes out of her bag. She changed into them and got under the covers, lifting the neck of the t-shirt so it covered her nose. Breathing in Sam's scent, she fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The next day Andy was partnered with Chris and they were really a perfect pair. Both moping around because of their significant others. Chris went on and on about Gail and Dov, and Andy wasn't even really sure what had happened, but it was clear something had. She felt bad. Chris deserved to be happy and even though she wasn't sure if Gail had in fact cheated on him, something had obviously happened between her and Dov.<p>

"Maybe you should give her another chance," she suggested. Gail wasn't her best friend, but Andy had seen how happy she made Chris and she hated seeing his smile gone.

"No. She let him in. She doesn't let people in," he said, as he drove around the city.

"What about Dov? You've refused to talk to him for days."

"Yeah, well, he was high on painkillers so I don't know. But I guess I can't blame him," Chris said, sighing. "When did life become so complicated?"

"I wish I knew," Andy said, shaking her head.

"Are you okay with Swarek gone?" Chris asked, glancing over at Andy who was now looking out the window.

"Yeah, I mean, I know I'll see him soon. I guess I didn't think it would be this hard to be away from him." Andy looked at Chris, knowing she could open up to him. "I love him like I've never loved anyone."

Chris smiled at Andy. Even though she was moping today, he knew deep down she was happy. "Let's go find some bad guys to take our mind off _them_." Andy laughed, but as if on cue, the radio came to life requesting them at a motor vehicle accident.


	10. Chapter 10

The chapters from here on out will include moments from last three episodes of the season. Hope everyone enjoys my version of the undercover op. Leave a review and let me know what you think. :) Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10 <strong>

Three days after Boyd pulled Sam out of his normal life, he was having drinks with Jamie Brennan after work. Brennan hadn't hesitated to hire him, saying he always needed extra manpower at his trucking company. "Thanks for this opportunity. Not a lot of employers out there can look past my time at Kingston Penn," Sam said, taking a swig of his beer.

"I know how hard it can be after doing time. Just don't let anything interfere with your work and we'll be good," Brennan responded.

Sam couldn't figure this guy out. He'd started poking around the warehouse, talking to some of the other guys and hadn't been able to catch even a whiff of anything illegal. And now, if he read between the lines, this guy was basically telling him to keep any of his dealings away from the warehouse. It didn't make sense.

"So, uh, how'd you turn your life around, get past your old life?" Sam asked.

"Maggie, my wife," he explained, looking over at Sam. "Get a good woman who believes in you and it gives you a reason to go straight."

Sam chuckled, trying to show Brennan he thought the idea was crazy. "Yeah, well, no good woman can get past me being in prison, so don't think that'll happen for me."

"She's out there. But if that's not incentive enough, just make sure to keep the stuff out of my warehouse, got it?" Brennan said.

Sam nodded. He was still confused how Brennan could put on such a good show about being out of the criminal life, but at least he seemed to have a soft spot for women. This was just the opening he needed to bring Andy into this operation without drawing any suspicion.

* * *

><p>For the next few days, Sam went to work every day, balancing prying into Brennan's affairs without being noticed and actually doing the job J.D. was hired to do. There was nothing unusual about the shipments coming and going. Brennan didn't seem to have any covert meetings. And no one had a bad word to say about the man. In fact, most seemed to feel sorry for Brennan, not knowing how anyone could deal with losing a wife and daughter in such a tragic way.<p>

Sam wished he had more time to look at the files about Brennan before Boyd pulled him in. He felt like he was missing something, the key piece to the puzzle. Sam supposed he could run his thoughts by Boyd, get his opinion, but quickly shook that thought off. Boyd was a good detective, but didn't play well with others and wasn't someone to bounce ideas off of. He needed Andy, someone who could help him work through what was going on, help him figure out why his gut was telling him something was off.

As Sam loaded crates onto a truck, he decided he'd contact Boyd tonight and tell him it was time for Andy to be sent in. And, well, needing her for the assignment might not be the only reason he wanted to tell Boyd it was time. It had only been a week, but he missed Andy like crazy. The thought of her being in his arms again made him grin like a giddy schoolboy. He pushed through the rest of the day hopeful with what tomorrow might bring.

* * *

><p>Six days after Sam left, Frank told Andy to stop by his office after parade, but when she walked in she noticed Frank wasn't there. It was only her and Boyd.<p>

"Tonight's the night. Swarek's ready for you," he said.

Andy was terrified and excited. She couldn't wait to see Sam again, but she was getting more and more nervous about the operation as she researched Brennan. "Okay, what's the plan?"

"You'll take a cab, driven by a member of my team, to the Alpine Inn, where Swarek has arranged a meeting with Brennan for tonight," he stated.

"What? Why is Brennan going to be there when I arrive?" she asked nervously.

"Swarek thinks if you enter the picture with Brennan around, he'll be less suspicious," Boyd continued, annoyed with her questions. "So, you and Swarek will meet up. Follow his lead on how he gets you back to the cover apartment. Your clothes will be dropped off tomorrow by a hotel van to go along with your cover that you're from out of town."

Many hours later, after completing a day of desk duty, Andy sat in the back of a cab. Boyd's guy Mark was driving her through the streets of Toronto, taking the long way to get to the bar where she would be meeting Sam. She was nervous. If she said or did the wrong thing, Brennan could make Sam as a cop, make her as a cop. The photos of the people Brennan tortured haunted her and she wondered if Sam made the right decision asking her to join him. He was experienced with this, but she wasn't.

Mark glanced at Andy in the rearview mirror and her nervousness was written across her face. He wondered what Boyd was thinking sending this rookie in. "Relax," he said, catching her eyes in the mirror.

_That's easy for him to say,_ Andy thought. She pouted and stared aimlessly out the window. Somehow she had to channel Sam's faith in her. She thought about all the times he encouraged her, all the times he had faith in her when she didn't. It brought a smile to her face and she felt calmer. When the cab slowed down, she noticed they were pulling up outside the Alpine Inn. She took a couple deep breaths and glanced at Mark before getting out of the car. She took one last deep breath before she pulled open the door to the bar.

Sam was playing pool with Brennan when he saw Andy enter the bar. He'd been checking the entrance every few minutes, waiting for her to walk through the door. Even in the dim light of the bar and from across the room, Sam could see the nervousness in Andy's eyes. She walked to the bar and looked around while she waited for her drink. That's when she saw Sam. Her heart started beating faster and she wasn't sure if it was from nervousness or seeing how the black shirt he wore hugged his muscles. She took a gulp of her beer and sauntered over to a table near where the men were playing pool. She recognized Brennan, but had no idea who the other two men were that were playing with Sam.

She looked at Sam and smiled as she sat sipping her beer. She was Candace, from out of town, flirting with a hot guy, she reminded herself. Sam looked her up and down so the other men would notice, before knocking the 9-ball in the pocket and winning the game for him and Brennan. The two guys on the losing end stomped off toward the bar.

Brennan hadn't missed the looks Sam had been throwing Andy. He hadn't seen his new employee give a second glance to any other women on the previous two occasions they had come to the bar, so he walked over to Andy. "Wanna play?" he asked, pointing to the table with his pool stick.

"I'm not really that good," she admitted.

"That's okay. My buddy here can help you. Isn't that right, J.D.?" he asked, looking over to Sam.

"Sure, anything to help a pretty girl out," he said, smiling at Andy.

"Haven't seen you around here before," Brennan said as he racked the balls.

"Oh yeah, I'm, uh, just in town for a conference," Andy replied, trying to fight off her nerves.

"What type of conference?"

"Insurance. Pretty boring, actually, but it's work." Andy was relieved when Brennan seemed to accept her answer.

Sam realized she wasn't lying when she said she was bad. "Here, let me help," he said, leaning over Andy as she held the pool stick and prepared to hit a ball. "You want to grip it this way," he said, placing his hands over hers and guiding them to a better spot. Andy's mind went blank when Sam pressed his whole body flush up against her. _Well, they were supposed to flirt in front of Brennan_, she thought.

He continued to help her throughout the game, but Brennan still won. "Good game," she said to Brennan, and then looked over to Sam and smiled. "Thanks for the help." She walked over to the bar and sat on a stool trying to wave the bartender down. Sam started to follow, but Brennan pulled him over to the side.

"A woman like that doesn't knock on your door every day. We can catch up later. I wouldn't let that slip through my fingers if I were you," Brennan said, nodding toward Andy. Sam was relieved. Not only did he buy their flirting, Brennan was telling him to take Andy home. This was even better then he hoped.

"Thanks boss. I, uh, didn't want to be rude. But, uh, guess I'll see you tomorrow then," he responded.

"No worries man," Brennan said, patting him on the back.

Sam walked back over to where Andy was sitting. He put a hand on her shoulder and she turned around to face him. "Can I buy you a drink?"

Andy smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."

They had a couple of drinks before Sam figured it was safe for them to leave. He helped Andy put on her coat before leading her out the door.

"Apartment's a few blocks away. You okay walking? You warm enough?" he asked when they got outside.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said and intertwined her fingers with Sam's.

They walked the few blocks in silence, having so much to say to each other, but not knowing if they were being followed. He unlocked the door to his apartment and walked up the stairs and into the large open room. While Andy glanced around and took her jacket off, Sam looked directly at one of the hidden cameras and waved his hand in Andy's direction, showing the team she made it. When he was satisfied they would know she was safely there, he flipped a switch on the wall into the off position.

"Cameras are off," he said, taking Andy's coat from her and tossing it next to his on a chair.

"This place is nice, beats your last undercover apartment," she said. Sam watched as Andy walked around the apartment, fingers trailing along the backs of chairs, the edge of the bed and the top of the wood stove before she casually sat on the edge of the table. "I like it."

"That's good. It'll be your home for the next few weeks or months," Sam replied, fitting his legs between hers as he stood in front of her. It had only been days since they last saw each other, but Sam missed her. Missed her more than he thought he would. He lay awake that morning making the decision that he would not be doing any future deep cover work unless she was with him.

Missing the feel of her, Sam ran his hands along her thighs and up her arms, coming to rest on the sides of her face. Andy ran her hands underneath his shirt and up his chest. "Shit! Your hands are freezing," Sam yelped, jumping at her cold touch.

Andy giggled as she played with the hair on his chest. "I think it's your job to warm me up."

Sam shook his head in amazement, but brought his mouth down to hers.

* * *

><p>Later that night, they lay in bed, legs tangled, Andy's head resting on Sam's chest and his fingers drawing circles on her bare back. Andy loved the feeling of being in Sam's protective arms.<p>

"Want something to drink?" Sam asked.

"Mmmhmm," Andy responded, and slid off his chest onto a pillow as he got out of bed. The cool air of the apartment was a stark contrast to the heat radiating off her back, but she was too comfortable to pull the sheets up higher than where they laid at her waist.

Sam quickly brought a glass of water back to bed, trying to hide what his other hand held. Lucky for him, Andy's eyes remained closed. His one hand hovered over her back for a moment before he trailed an ice cube down her spine, leaving it melting on her lower back.

"Sam!" she shrieked, almost knocking the water out of his hand as she sat up.

"That was for the cold hands," he said, flashing his dimples.

"You're evil," she said, shivering as she pulled the sheets up around her.

"Yup. But you love me anyway," he replied.

Andy rolled her eyes. "You're lucky I love you," she said, taking the glass out of his hands and sipping some of the water. She smiled as he took the glass back and put it on the table next to the bed. He laid back down, pulling her close and she rested her head in the crook of his neck. Sam felt the skin on her arm was chilled, so he pulled the heavy comforter up around her shoulders as she snuggled into the warmth of his body.

"We need to go over a few of the important rules about UC work," Sam said.

"Now?" she asked.

"I should've done it the moment you walked in the door, but we were a little preoccupied." He really didn't want to discuss this now, but for their safety he had to. "Are you listening?"

"Mmmhmm," she replied, sleepily.

"McNally." She knew when Sam used that voice, he meant business.

"I'm listening. Go ahead," she said, shifting her head so she could look at Sam's face.

"Okay. When we're in this apartment alone we can be Sam & Andy, but the moment you step out that door you become Candace. Remember that. You're life will depend on it," he said.

"I understand," Andy replied.

"If we're not here, the cameras have to be on. The cover team will notify us if anyone breaks in. If anyone is here with us, cameras have to be on," he explained. "We can shut them off while we're alone, but should keep them on as much as possible. Got it?"

"Yes, got it. Sam?" She waited until he turned his face toward her before continuing. "Thank you for believing in me. I promise I won't screw this up."

Sam kissed her forehead before she shifted her head back onto his chest and they quickly fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The next two days passed uneventfully. Sam went to work at the warehouse and Andy stayed in the apartment. They decided that until Brennan knew she had stuck around, it was best she lie low. Sam wanted to make sure he was around when Brennan saw her again, just to protect her in case he suspected something.<p>

She thumbed through magazines, cleaned and reorganized the apartment all in the first day. The second day she looked through the books in the bookcase and found a couple that looked interesting, so she sat down to read one. She was doing everything possible not to be bored. She knew they had to be careful about how they integrated Candace into J.D.'s life, but she was starting to feel useless.

When Sam came home that night, she suggested she get a job as part of her cover. He knew it was a good idea, so he suggested seeing if there was a waitress opening at the Alpine Inn. But that wasn't what Andy had in mind. She was part of this undercover operation, so it was about time she acted like it.

"I was thinking more along the lines of finding a way to work with Brennan," she said as she took dishes out of the cabinet for dinner.

"What? No. This guy's dangerous, you don't need to be working for him," Sam replied, his over protectiveness taking over.

Andy rolled her eyes, frustrated. She placed the dishes on the table hard, and the noise caused Sam to stop what he was doing and give Andy his full attention. "I get that he's dangerous, but it's not like I can stay away from him since I'm part of this operation," she said. "Plus, it's not too dangerous for _you_ to be working for him."

She had him there. And if she was in the warehouse with him, he'd be able to keep an eye on her. "We can't push too hard. But if we find an opening, we can talk to him about hiring you," he relented.

Andy was happy with that and walked over to Sam, framing his face in her hands as she leaned up to kiss him. Stepping away, she continued to set the table while Sam started to cook dinner.

* * *

><p>The next night Brennan suggested meeting at the Alpine Inn for drinks after work and Sam decided this was a good time to put "Candace" on display again. As they walked to the bar, Sam thought about this being a turning point in the operation. If Brennan didn't buy why she was still around, it could blow the whole thing. He didn't want to put any additional pressure on Andy, so he kept his worries to himself and prayed for a good outcome.<p>

Brennan and some other guys Sam worked with were already at a table when they arrived, so they quickly made their way over and sat down. Sam made introductions and Andy recognized the names – Johnny, Joey and Matt – as Sam had told her about the guys he worked with earlier.

"I see Candace is still with us," Brennan said, casting a cautious glance over Andy.

"Yeah, I was supposed to leave, but just couldn't and I missed my plane," Andy responded, smiling and placing a kiss on Sam's cheek.

"Just couldn't let her go, boss. Sometimes you just know and you gotta keep 'em around," Sam said and then chuckled briefly.

"Sure, sure, I get it. Well, welcome to town Candace. First rounds on me," he said, walking over to the bar.

As the rest of the guys started talking about hockey, Andy looked over at Sam. His eyes told her to relax, and the arm around her waist moved so he could rub a hand up her back.

By the time Brennan came back, Johnny had been distracted by a tall blond at the bar and went over to buy her a drink. Sam and Joey soon decided to play a game of pool, and Sam placed a kiss on Andy's cheek before getting up from the table. When Matt excused himself to the bathroom, Andy tried not to feel uncomfortable being left alone with Brennan. That didn't last long.

"So a girl shows up in a bar then shacks up with the first guy she has a connection with. That's the story you're trying to tell me?" Brennan asked.

Andy's eyes shot wide-open and she almost choked on the beer in her mouth. Did he see through the story she and Sam told him to explain why she was still around? "I'm not trying to tell you anything," Andy replied, trying to remain calm.

"C'mon, Candace from Wisconsin," Brennan prompted, the tone of his voice worrying her.

Maybe the real Candace would be pissed that he was questioning her. Maybe she'd be fearful of his aggressive questioning. Andy took a sip of her drink and glanced over at Sam, who flashed a smile her way. It calmed her and she refocused. Keep it real, as truthful as you can, was what Sam was always telling her. _Here goes nothing_, she thought.

"Fine," she said and sighed for dramatic effect. "Uh, my dad is an alcoholic and my mom left us. So, I choose the route of stability. I moved out and found Mr. Nice Guy, only to realize it was the worst decision of my life. So, after that, decided to get out of town, I end up at a dive bar, I meet J.D. and for the first time in a really long time I was starting to have fun, so I stayed."

Andy tried to read Brennan's face. He seemed to be thinking over what she said, maybe debating whether or not to believe her. She tried to look annoyed that he was questioning her and hoped it was convincing. "I finally found happiness and I don't want to let it slip through my fingers. I know it might sound crazy, but when you know you know," she said.

When Brennan's mouth curved into a smile, the fear tearing through her body eased up. He took a long sip of his beer and followed the glass with his eyes as he set it back on the table. He looked up at Andy and tilted his head to one side. "You remind me a bit of my wife, Maggie," he said. "She brought out the best in me. I think you do that to J.D. and he could use a bit of that right now."

He warmed up to Andy and began telling her more about his wife and daughter. She listened intently, hoping he'd say something that could help the operation.


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks to everyone continuing to read, review, favorite and alert this story! Now that we've reached the undercover op, we're nearing the end of this story. I think the next chapter will be the last. I really love reading all the reviews, so if you have a chance, please let me know what you think. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

Sam sat down with a handful of other workers in the warehouse's break room to have lunch when Brennan decided to join them. Sam had been told the boss liked to mingle with his employees during lunch to make it easier for anyone who wanted to approach him with questions or concerns about the job. This was the second time since Sam had been working at the warehouse that Brennan joined them, but for the first time the boss took a seat across from him.

"How's Candace adapting to Toronto?" Brennan asked.

"She's enjoying it. Her life had gotten pretty bad back in Wisconsin, so she's happy to start over somewhere new," Sam replied. "Probably seems crazy, for her to drop her life, quit her job, but she seems truly happy here. And I feel lucky to have her in my life."

"No, I get it. She reminds me a lot of Maggie, my wife. There's a sweet naivety about her. Just remember what I said about a good woman helping to turn your life around. She might be that one for you," Brennan said.

Sam nodded as he continued to eat the sandwich Andy had made for him that morning. Brennan might have been talking about J.D. and Candace, but Sam thought about how true his statement was. Andy had turned his life around, not in the way Brennan meant, but she had shown him there was more to life than being a cop and working undercover. There was love, true love.

After a few minutes of eating in silence, Brennan spoke up again. "The job okay?"

"It's good. It's a paycheck," Sam replied. "Wouldn't mind, uh, figuring a way to earn a bit more cash if any extra work comes up."

"I could throw you some overtime if that's what you mean," Brennan replied. That wasn't what Sam meant and he was again frustrated the man hadn't taken the bait to discuss any high-paying illegal activities he was involved with.

Nonetheless, he played along with where the conversation had headed. "Yeah, anything to make a few extra bucks would be great. Gotta support two of us now, until Candace finds a new job," Sam said, figuring it couldn't hurt to throw in Andy's request of wanting to get more involved.

"She good with numbers?" Brennan asked.

Sam took a moment to think. He didn't know the answer to that, but figured J.D. wouldn't know that about Candace either. "Not sure. She's smart though, might be good with numbers or quick to learn," he responded.

"I might have a job for her. I need someone to help in the office, maintain the books. It's a part of the job I hate. Why don't you bring her in tomorrow and we can chat," Brennan suggested.

Sam nodded and continued to eat his lunch. Getting eyes on Brennan's financials was a huge advantage for their operation. They could see where his money was coming from and who he was paying. It would give them an indication of where his criminal activities were focused. Sam fought back a smile as he thought how fantastic this was.

After lunch, Sam was assigned to unload a truck that had come in that morning. When he had seen the shipment on the list, he had been suspicious because the name of the company was very similar to a gang from out west known for gun trafficking. When the guy he was working with was distracted, Sam took a peak into one of the crates he had just unloaded. Hoping to find illegal weapons, he was disappointed when the crate only contained car parts.

It took all afternoon to finish unloading the shipment and none of the handful of crates Sam checked out contained anything other than car parts. He left the warehouse frustrated that yet another day had gone by without finding evidence against Brennan.

Andy could tell something was bothering Sam when he returned to the apartment, so she pulled him over to the couch with her. "Wanna tell me about your day?" she asked. He explained his frustration about the latest shipment and going another day without making any progress.

As she sat next to Sam with her feet curled under her, Andy rubbed his shoulder and listened as he started thinking out loud about the possibilities. Maybe the car parts were stolen. Maybe it was a legitimate shipment from the gang to hide the next illegal one. He went on for a few minutes with various theories before stopping to look at Andy.

"It doesn't matter. Bottom line I found nothing today. Again," he said. He cupped Andy's cheek with his hand and she leaned into his touch.

"We will," she said confidently.

Sam smiled, amazed at how much faith she had in him. "In better news, you have a meeting with Brennan tomorrow."

"What? How?" A look of shock flashed over her face.

"It came up that he was looking for someone to help out in the office, work on his books, and I volunteered you," Sam replied.

"His books? This is great. We'll get to see where all his money is going," she said, excitedly.

"Yup. I didn't know if you were comfortable working with financial information, but took a chance," he said, hopefully.

"Yeah, I can handle it. I've never worked with a company's financials before, but it can't be that difficult, right? I can fake it. Oh my god, Sam, this is great," she said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Just be careful poking around. Look for anything out of the ordinary, any large amounts coming in or going out," he suggested.

Andy nodded and started thinking about what type of accounting system he used and hoped it was easy to understand. Finally she was getting more involved and feeling useful to the operation.

* * *

><p>"We're missing karaoke night at the Penny tonight," Andy said the next morning as she made the bed while Sam got dressed.<p>

"You're telling me you'd get up there singing?" Sam asked, a doubtful look on his face.

"Well, I'd have to be good and drunk, but sure. As long as I didn't have to sing with Dov. I've heard him sing before," Andy replied, laughing as she thought about the time she went over to his and Chris' apartment to hang out and heard Dov singing in the shower.

Andy fluffed the pillows before throwing them on top of the comforter. "Would you sing?" she asked.

"Sure."

"Really?" Andy asked full of surprise. She never pictured him getting up in front of a crowd and singing. When he didn't immediately respond, Andy kept talking. "What would you sing? Who would you sing with? Oliver? Me?"

As if needing to quiet her barrage of questions, Sam finally spoke up. "I'm kidding. I wouldn't sing."

"I know you wouldn't, you're too cool," she said, smirking.

Sam snorted and then walked over to circle his arms around her waist, pulling her close so her back was flush up against him. "Hey, I do a lot of things, alright. I cook, I clean, I'm good with tools, I'm an excellent driver," he said.

"You ever wish we were normal?" Andy asked out of the blue.

Sam looked down at Andy, but couldn't see her expression from this angle. "What do you mean? We are normal."

"You know what I mean," she said, tilting her head so she could look at Sam's face. "Here we are living together, but not really since this is all fake. We're acting like we only met a few days ago and hiding two years of knowing each other, caring about each other. We're in this little bubble, with no friends, no family, making nice with a criminal every day." Andy spoke fast, not stopping to take a breath until she was finished.

Sam wasn't sure where this was all coming from. "My feelings for you aren't fake, Andy," he said. "The rest…the rest is part of being undercover."

"Mine aren't either, my feelings I mean. Still, part of me wishes we were normal," she said, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her blouse. "But, how are we gonna do that?"

Sam placed his hands on Andy's to still them and then tugged gently to turn her so she was facing him. He hadn't planned to do this, especially right now while they were undercover, but then again he wasn't a planner. He acted spontaneously, on gut instinct, so he went with what he was feeling. "What if I asked you to move in with me when we're finished with this assignment?" he asked.

"I'd say that sounds pretty normal," she responded softly.

"So, wanna try being normal together after all of this?" Sam flashed his dimples, hoping she'd like his idea.

Andy's lips slowly curved into a smile. "I guess it's a good thing we missed the appointment to see the condos."

"We could always reschedule, you know, buy a new place together. We don't need to live in my apartment," he suggested.

"I don't care. As long as I'm with you, I don't care where we live," she said, her grin reaching ear to ear.

Sam lowered his lips to hers and suddenly couldn't wait for the UC job to be over. He pulled back, realizing they needed to get to the warehouse so Andy wasn't late for her meeting with Brennan. "We should go," he said.

Andy looked over at the clock and refocused on the job at hand. "I can do this. I can convince Brennan to hire me," she said, speaking more to herself than Sam.

"Yes you can. You're going to be great," he said as they grabbed their coats and walked out the door.

When they got to the warehouse, Sam took Andy to Brennan's office before heading off to start loading one of two trucks that had to be on the road by noon.

"Candace, glad you could come in," Brennan said, as he waved for her to sit in a chair in front of his desk.

"Thank you for suggesting it to J.D.," she said, forcing her hands to stay calm and not fidget with her clothes.

"I've always hated accounting so I just need someone to handle it for me. My books aren't complicated, so you don't need any official experience." He paused, looking down at a paper on his desk. "I know you have a record, but as I've told J.D. I can look past it as long as you stay clean on the clock."

Andy nodded, not surprised he had checked up on Candace's background. "Absolutely. It was just stupid mistakes when I was younger."

"Have you ever worked in accounting before?" he asked.

"No, sir. But I'm good with numbers and I learn quickly. I can do this job."

"Okay, we'll make the next couple days a trial. If you don't like it or you're not working out for me, it's over. No harm done. Otherwise, you're hired fulltime," he explained. "When can you start?"

"Now," she replied, smiling.

"Okay, let's get you set up," Brennan said, getting up from his chair. He led her to a small office next to his that was filled with file cabinets. There was barely enough room to fit the chair and desk, which was empty except for a computer and a couple pens on it. He turned on the computer and hovered over Andy as he explained where she could find his financial records. He briefly explained his system and showed her where invoices and bills were kept before leaving her to get familiar with everything.

She split her time between actually doing the work and searching through the massive amount of information for clues. She was lost in it when a knock on the open door caused her to jump. "Sorry," Sam said, walking in.

Andy smiled at him. "It's okay, was just absorbed in what I was doing."

Sam raised an eyebrow and Andy knew he was wondering if she found anything interesting. She shook her head. She hadn't made her way through a lot of the records yet, but nothing was raising a red flag so far.

"Ready to go?" Sam asked. Andy looked at her watch and couldn't believe it was after 5pm already.

"Wow, this day flew by," she said, closing the files and shutting off the computer. She slid her arm through Sam's as they walked out of the office. "Let's go home."

* * *

><p>The days passed by with Sam and Andy working in the warehouse day after day and occasionally meeting Brennan and others at the bar for drinks. Just over a month had gone by since Sam walked into their cover apartment for the first time and he didn't have any more evidence now then he did that day. Sam's gut had been telling him something was wrong, but when he finally voiced his concern to Boyd days earlier, the detective seemed uninterested. Sam was good at his job – he had repeatedly uncovered evidence to take down criminals in record time – but Brennan was a hard nut to crack. And after weeks of working on Brennan's books, Andy hadn't found a single shred of evidence that he was paying, or being paid by, criminals. None of it made sense.<p>

Andy watched Sam as he stared into space and barely nibbled at the pizza he held. She knew the look on his face meant he was trying to sort through something and it was better to let him work through whatever it was he was thinking about. So, she ate in silence for ten minutes before he finally spoke.

"Something's not right," Sam said, tossing his half-eaten piece of pizza onto the paper plate.

"What do you mean?" Andy asked, gently prying.

He picked up the pizza again, but quickly tossed it back and got up to pace the room.

"Sam, what do you mean something's not right?" she asked again.

Sam sat back down and took a swig of beer. "Brennan's not back in the life and I'm not even sure he wants to be. We're chasing shadows," he said, rubbing a hand over his face. "What was it he said to you about his wife and kid?"

Andy thought back to the discussion she had when Brennan told her she was good for J.D. "He said Maggie and Gracie were his world. That they changed him for the better, made him a good person," she said. "Then when he mentioned the accident, he said something about fighting back his demons and honoring them by being good. He started not making much sense at that point, but I figured it was just the alcohol starting to talk."

Sam thought it over for a bit, staying silent as he took a couple bites of pizza. Andy was trying to piece together his thoughts, but she was left confused. "Sam, what's going on?"

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "Boyd said he had information that Brennan was getting back into the life. That his wife and child getting killed put him over the edge, sent him back into his old life."

"And you don't buy it?" she asked.

"He's done a lot of horrible things and I would love to be able to finally pin even just one death on him, but he's like a new man," Sam said, finishing off his beer.

"So, what do we do if we can't get anything on him?" she asked as she began cleaning up the table.

"If he won't invite me to partake in any criminal activities, then I'll just have to invite him," Sam responded, getting up to help.

"And how are you gonna do that?"

"Boyd gave J.D. a boat. I didn't have any use for it until now, but I'll let on that I'm moving drugs through it. See if he bites," he said.

"Sam, there's something else Brennan said about his wife and daughter. I don't know if it means anything, but…" She played with the dishtowel, wringing it with her hands. Sam stared at her, urging her to continue. "It's just, today I commented on a beautiful photo of them on his desk and he started talking about them. He said something about the accident not even being an accident. Like he thought someone killed them."

Sam thought for a moment, trying to recall the details of the accident report Boyd had included in the files they reviewed prior to going undercover. "I don't remember much about the accident," he admitted.

"The accident report was nearly empty. You were gone by the time I noticed it. But it wasn't even a lazy report. It was incomplete," Andy explained.

"What did Boyd say about it?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said sheepishly. "I was afraid to talk to him about it. Thought he'd see it as me not knowing what I was doing and prevent me from coming. I should've said something."

Sam stood in front of Andy and rubbed his hands up and down her arms to comfort her. "There's nothing we can do about the accident report. All we know is what it says, that they died in an accident," he said.

"So we just assume it's accurate?"

"For now, yes. We can check it out after this is over, if you want," he suggested.

Andy thought about the photo of the beautiful woman and child, and nodded. Brennan might be a criminal, but if his wife and daughter were killed by someone they deserved justice.

* * *

><p>Later that week, Sam and Andy were hanging out with Brennan at the Alpine Inn. They had decided on the way over that tonight was the night Sam was going to bring up the boat. After about an hour, Andy offered to get the next round of drinks, giving Sam an opportunity to talk to Brennan alone.<p>

"So, I, uh, got this boat," Sam started.

"Oh yeah? What's her name?" Brennan asked.

"God's Good Grace," he answered, recalling the name from the file Boyd gave him.

"Must be hard to enjoy this time of year, with the lake being frozen," Brennan said.

"Yeah, well, I use it for other activities." Sam gave him a pointed look before continuing. "It's been pretty profitable of late and I was, uh, wondering if you wanted in on any of it."

"And why would you want me to take some of your profits?" he asked with a suspicious look on his face.

"You've been good to me. And Candace. Thought I could return the favor," he replied. "The product's great, right up your alley," he said, when Brennan hesitated.

Brennan looked over to where Andy was waiting for drinks at the bar and then back at Sam. "And she's okay with this hobby you've got going on?"

"She likes the cash that buys her fancy clothes and pretty jewelry," Sam said, grinning.

"You know, J.D., if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were a cop trying to bait me into something." Brennan smiled and chuckled. "I'll think about it."

The uneasy feeling in Sam's gut was hidden by the smile he forced on his face as Andy returned with their drinks.

* * *

><p>Sam called Boyd when they got back to the cover apartment. "You need to pull us out," he told the detective.<p>

"Hold on there Sammy. What's wrong?"

"Something's not right. I've got a feeling. You need to get a plan together to pull us out," Sam instructed.

"Wait. Wait. We're not rushing into anything here. Talk me through what's been going on," Boyd said.

Andy watched Sam pace the room for the next 20 minutes while he talked to Boyd. She could tell he wasn't getting the response he wanted and she was proven right when he hung up and threw his phone at the couch.

"He won't pull us," Sam said, looking at Andy. "He thinks I'm worrying over nothing." He walked over to the kitchen table and leaned back against it.

"And what do you think?" she asked, walking over and reaching her arms around his neck.

Circling his arms around her waist, he pulled her closer. "I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "I just don't like Brennan's response tonight. He laughed like he was joking, but I don't know." Sam exhaled and pressed his forehead to Andy's.

"So, we stay. Give Brennan time to take you up on the offer," she suggested.

"And be even more careful. I don't want you going anywhere alone." Sam pulled his head back so he could look into Andy's eyes so she would know he was serious.

"We'll figure it out Sam. We will." He smiled at her optimism, but the nagging feeling in his gut wouldn't go away.


	12. Chapter 12

Here we are, at the last chapter of this story. Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed this story, along with all the favorites and alerts. It really made me smile to know people were enjoying this story as much as I did writing it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12 <strong>

The pounding on the door woke Sam and Andy, and Sam pressed the palms of his hands over his eyes to shake off the grogginess. He was comfortable with Andy curled up next to him and didn't want to get out of bed, so he yelled towards the door asking who it was, hoping it was some solicitor he could just ignore. When Brennan responded, Sam looked over at Andy as he got out of bed.

"What the hell is he doing here on a Saturday morning?" Andy asked, concern and worry hinting through her voice.

Sam shrugged in confusion and flipped on the cameras as he heard Brennan pound on the door again and say "Coffee's getting cold, open up J.D." He walked down the stairs and opened the door. Still not fully awake, Sam didn't have time to notice Brennan wasn't holding any coffee before he was pushed backward as Brennan walked in and slammed the door behind him. Andy heard the commotion on the stairs, and by the time she heard Sam say gun, she was already reaching into the nightstand for her gun and jumping out of bed.

When Brennan and Sam reached the top of the stairs and rounded the corner, Andy was holding her gun out straight in front of her. "Drop the gun Brennan," she said sternly. Sam continued backing up into the apartment, his bare feet matching each of Brennan's steps forward.

"And I'm supposed to believe an insurance agent knows how to handle a gun? I don't take nicely to having cops in my business, so I can't let either of you leave here alive," Brennan said calmly.

"Cops? What are you talking about boss?" Sam asked, playing dumb.

"God's Good Grace," he replied simply.

Sam wondered what the boat had to do with Brennan thinking they were cops, so he continued to play dumb. "My boat? Look man, I needed some extra cash so I can buy Candace her big house with a white picket fence. I'm smuggling and dealing, but I'm keeping it out of your warehouse."

"Funny thing about that boat of yours. The name sounded familiar so I checked it out. Turns out your boat just happened to be owned by a guy who ran heroine up the coast until it was seized by the police a year ago. I imagine the police still own it, isn't that right officers?" Brennan looked back and forth between Sam and Andy.

Andy took her eyes off of Brennan's gun to look at Sam and as they had always been able to do, they had a silent conversation and she knew she had to distract Brennan. "Killing two cops, that's a lot of jail time. You'd probably never see the light of day again," she said.

Brennan stared at her as an evil smile crept onto his face. But he remained silent.

"It'll be obvious to connect the dots. Our colleagues aren't stupid," she continued. It was working, and Brennan kept his attention on her, which allowed Sam to inch toward him slowly.

"How many murders have you been able to pin on me? Zero. Why? Because I'm good at covering it up," he said.

Andy looked at him, dumbfounded at his cockiness. "Wow. I guess you really are as stupid as I thought you were."

"Pissing me off isn't going to make me kill you any faster. In fact, slower and more painful is sounding better and –" He was cut off as Sam knocked the gun out of his hand. Andy took steps closer as the two men fought, but she had no clear shot to get Brennan without risking hitting Sam.

She watched Sam take a hard hit to the face, before he elbowed Brennan in the head, which dazed him enough for Sam to toss him to the ground and pull his arms behind his back. With a knee pressed down firmly on Brennan, Sam nodded to the kitchen. "Rope, under the sink," he said between breaths.

Andy kept the gun in one hand as she retrieved the heavy rope from the kitchen and brought it over to Sam. He tied Brennan's hands tightly and asked Andy to toss him his cell phone. Still in her pajamas and barefoot, Andy stood over Brennan with her gun pointed at him in case he dared to try and move.

"Ouch, you're killing my back man," Brennan mumbled.

Sam responded with increased pressure from his knee. "You're breaking my heart," he said as he held his phone up to his ear and waited for the person on the other end to pick up.

"Swarek, what the hell are you doing calling me this early on a Saturday?" barked the voice on the phone.

"You might want to check the cameras Boyd. We have Brennan under arrest for attempted murder of two cops. Get someone over here now," Sam said.

"What the hell happened?" Boyd screamed. "You weren't supposed to arrest him. The operation wasn't over yet!"

"Did you miss the attempted murder part of what I said? Just get over here," Sam replied. Annoyed, he hung up before waiting for a response. Sam shook his head. Boyd was most definitely not his favorite person right now.

"You okay?" Andy asked, looking at the cut on Sam's cheekbone.

"It's fine." Andy recognized that tone of voice and knew he was annoyed. Not at her, but annoyed enough that she remained silent.

"You're gonna pay. Someone's gonna pay for what happened to them," Brennan mumbled, his face still pressed into the floor from Sam's weight on him.

"Shut up," Sam hissed.

"What, ya gonna kill me and cover this up, just like them?"

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about, so just shut up. You tried to kill two Toronto Police Officers, so you're going to jail for a long time," Sam said, shifting even more of his weight onto Brennan.

Less than half an hour after Sam called Boyd, Andy heard the door open, followed by several footsteps on the stairs. Boyd appeared with two members of his team. He nodded to the two guys to take Brennan and they replaced the rope with handcuffs. Once he was out of the room Boyd walked over to Sam and Andy who were now standing shoulder to shoulder.

"One of you care to tell me what the hell happened here this morning?" Boyd demanded.

"What the hell happened?" Sam repeated Boyd's words as he backed him up against the wall. "You almost got us killed!"

"Me? Don't blame me if you and your sweetheart here screwed up. Don't even, because, look, you and your rookie – "

Sam didn't let him finish, clenching his fists as he stood face to face with the detective. "Her name is Officer McNally and two years on the job she's already ten times the cop you'll ever be. You're done," he said.

"Don't threaten me Swarek. I could have both your badges for screwing up this operation," Boyd said, pointing his finger in Sam's face.

"Don't even go there. You're the one who gave me a boat seized in a high profile drug arrest. Not to mention the fact Brennan isn't back in the life and there's no indication he was even thinking about it. I told you to pull us a week ago." Andy could see Sam's anger growing by the second, and as he clenched and unclenched his fists she was afraid he'd hit Boyd. Not that she wouldn't love to see that, but they couldn't give Boyd anything to use against them.

She walked over to Sam and placed a hand on his back. "Sam, don't," she whispered. "You're better than him."

He released a breath and backed away from Boyd. "Get the hell out of here Boyd," he demanded. "We'll finish this at the station."

Boyd looked smugly at Andy and Sam, before turning and walking out of the apartment. The room echoed in silence and they remained still for several minutes before Andy spoke. "Sam," she said and waited for him to turn around to face her. "What you said, you're right, but he's not the one we need to convince. We need to prove it to Best."

"I got us into this. I trusted Boyd. We got lucky. Brennan could've killed us," he said, and stormed off to the bathroom, flipping the switch for the cameras to the off position on his way. Andy knew there was no calming him down right now and went into the kitchen to make them coffee. She heard the shower turn on as she put two bagels in the toaster.

She was sitting at the table eating one of the bagels when Sam walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. The shower had helped clear his mind and he smiled at Andy who was licking cream cheese off her fingers. "What?" she asked when she noticed Sam staring at her.

"Save any cream cheese for me?" he asked, teasing her about the ridiculous amount of the stuff he knew she plastered her bagel with.

"Maybe," she smirked.

He pulled on boxers and jeans before he sat across from Andy, where a bagel and a cup of coffee sat waiting for him. He stopped spreading cream cheese on his bagel and looked deep into her eyes. He couldn't vocalize what he wanted to say. To thank her for stopping him from doing anything stupid with Boyd, for knowing when he just needed space, for just being amazing. Andy sipped her coffee, looking at Sam over her mug. She placed the mug down and her lips curved into a smile. Getting up, she made her way around the table and leaned down to place a kiss on Sam's cheek. It was her silent response to his silent thank you. She padded into the bathroom for her turn in the shower.

Once Andy and Sam were fully dressed, they packed their belongings into their suitcases. Making sure they left nothing personal behind, they brought the suitcases down to the car and headed to the station.

Less than an hour later, they sat in Frank's office describing what had happened with Boyd, Brennan and the boat. Sam also shared his suspicions that Brennan was not back in the life and it didn't appear he had any plans to get involved in illegal activities. Frank was less than pleased and notified Jerry to take over Brennan's interrogation for Boyd. As Sam and Andy left his office, Frank was on the phone with someone at Guns and Gangs.

"What happens now?" Andy asked.

"Well, someone will still have to officially debrief us, but you can bet it won't be Boyd," Sam replied.

"Before we head out, I just want to check something at my desk," Andy said. Sam followed her and watched as she sifted through a stack of files and pulled one out. Sam furrowed his eyebrows when she glanced up at him. "It's the accident report," she explained as she sat down. He pulled a chair up next to her.

"It really is empty. How could anyone sign off on this? Why didn't I notice this before?" Sam asked, more to himself than Andy.

"Well, Boyd did pull you under pretty quickly. You didn't get to read the files as thoroughly as I did," she replied. "Maybe he didn't want you to."

Sam flipped through the report again and pointed to a name at the bottom of the last page. "Let's go talk to Officer Armstrong."

* * *

><p>They found Giselle Armstrong and, after some persuading, convinced her to hand over the real accident report. As they were leaving, Sam had one more question for her. "Who asked you to cover this up?"<p>

She hesitated, but knew she'd go down for the cover up alone without giving up the detective's name. And it wasn't like she ever wanted to hide the fact a mother and daughter were murdered. But he had been convincing, offering her the promotion to detective. "Boyd, Donovan Boyd."

They drove back to the station in silence. Andy knew Sam was taking this hard. He'd been friends with Boyd, had known him since the academy. And within the last 12 hours he found out his friend had given him a boat that led to their cover being blown and covered up the killing of an innocent mother and daughter. Andy placed a comforting hand on Sam's knee, knowing there were no words that could help right now.

When they pulled into the station's parking lot, they sat in the car looking over the original accident report. "Why would Boyd cover this up?" Andy asked.

Sam looked over at Andy. "The answer lies in who the car seen fleeing the scene belongs to. We need to run the plate. And we need to do this quietly," he said.

They entered the station and sat down at a computer away from everyone else. They didn't want Boyd catching wind of what they were investigating before they had a chance to get as much evidence as they could. Sam punched the plate into the system and in less than a minute a name popped up. Shawn Elmore. Andy didn't see the connection, but Sam did.

"Brennan killed his brother. The accident was revenge," he explained.

"Why cover it up?"

"Elmore is part of the JMC gang. The last few months Guns and Gangs has made a lot of progress into shutting down their activities, more progress than they had in years. My bet is Boyd covered up the accident in exchange for information about the gang," Sam said. He rubbed his hand over his face. He was tired, mentally more than physically.

Andy was putting all the pieces together. "And I'm sure this hasn't hurt Boyd's position within Guns and Gangs." It was a statement more than a question.

Sam took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair.

"Great job getting Brennan," Jerry said, coming up from behind and surprising them both. "You guys see any of the interrogation?"

"Nah. Just tying up some loose ends before we head out," Sam replied. "Brennan give you anything?"

"Well, he, uh, apologized for trying to kill you two. Said something about getting caught up in the fact cops killed his family. We're not sure what that's about yet," Jerry replied. "We're waiting on his lawyer now."

Andy looked over at Sam as she bit her bottom lip. Sam glanced at the accident report lying on the desk and then back up to Jerry. "You may want to hold off on more questioning," he suggested. "There's more to this than we know."

"Sammy, what aren't you telling me?"

Shaking his head Sam got up, grabbing the report. Andy followed him as he headed to Frank's office. In a similar scene to hours earlier, Sam explained what they had found about Brennan's family's accident and how it was connected to Boyd.

"I'm going to forward this information to my contact at Guns and Gangs. Detective Anderson has already started an investigation on Boyd after I spoke to him this morning," Frank said.

"So, what happens now?" Andy asked.

"I want you two to go home for the rest of the day. Be back here at 9am tomorrow to meet with Anderson. He'll be debriefing you on the UC operation and likely have questions about the information you've just given me," he replied.

"And Boyd?" Sam asked.

"He'll be suspended or put on desk duty while the investigation is completed. After that, I can only guess, but it doesn't look good," Frank replied.

They thanked Frank and saw him waving down Jerry as they left his office. Before they could make it out of the station, Boyd cornered them.

"What the hell did you do? I'm off the case, can't interrogate Brennan. I've been called back to headquarters!" Boyd screamed.

Sam took a deep breath and Andy felt his hand grasp hers tighter. "You got yourself into this mess, not us."

"I warned you if she screwed up this operation I'd have her badge. And I will," Boyd threatened.

Within seconds, Sam had Boyd slammed against the wall, with one arm across his neck and a hand gripping his arm. "Don't ever threaten her or me. You get that? _You _screwed up. You're the one who's going to be losing his badge." Sam slowly released his hold and backed up to where Andy still stood. "Let's go," he said, placing a hand at the small of her back.

Boyd stood against the wall stunned as Sam and Andy walked out the door.

* * *

><p>Later that night Andy was going through a pile of papers on Sam's coffee table. Most of it was junk mail and magazines, but then she came across brochures for the two condos she had narrowed her choices down to before the undercover operation. She stared at the brochures for a moment before a voice from behind the couch startled her.<p>

"I meant what I said while we were undercover," Sam said. "You know, when I said I want you to move in with me."

Andy smiled. "I did too. I mean, I want to move in with you."

Sam sat down next to her and glanced at the condo brochures before looking back at Andy. "Do you want to live here or take a look at those condos you liked so much?" he asked. He put his arm around her waist, pulling her further back on the couch and toward him.

She leaned into him as her eyes fell back on the brochures. The condos were nice and she had liked them both a lot, but she also liked Sam's apartment. Andy wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want to force Sam into something. Sam could see the hesitation on her face, like she didn't want to say the wrong thing, even though there was no wrong answer in his mind. He slid his hand to the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out her phone. "Call the realtor," he said, waving her phone in front of her.

"Sam, you're apartment's great. We don't need to move," she said.

"So, we'll keep it as an option…along with these two condos and whatever else we think of. Call her," he replied, not taking no for an answer. She took her phone and slowly looked through the contacts for the realtor's name.

"Are you sure? We really don't need to find a new place." Sam nodded and sent a pointed look toward her phone.

A few minutes later, she was excited to learn from the realtor neither condo had been purchased yet. Sam couldn't help but be happy at the smile that erupted on Andy's face at the news.

"Do you really want to move into one of the condos?" Andy asked. She was skeptical he wanted to move out of his great apartment and wondered if he was doing this just for her.

"I'm open to it. More importantly, I want a place that is _ours_ Andy. Not mine. A place where we can build our future together," he said.

Andy liked the sound of that, _our future_. "Who would've guessed you were so sweet and sentimental," she playfully teased.

"Don't let that get out or I'll never live it down," he said, flashing his dimples.

"Hmm, it makes for good blackmail." The smirk on her face was quickly replaced by laughter as Sam started tickling her.

* * *

><p>THE END<p> 


End file.
